Candea--Remastered
by MissLindaLee
Summary: As summer winds down, things heat up at when Linda acquires a new ability on her first day of school. She learns to master it just as a crisis threatens her and other students of Smallville High-and she must figure out a way to save them all without revealing herself in the process. (Fourth story in the remastered Angelica Corsusca series)
1. Chapter 1

Linda stood on her tiptoes and reached up to dust the top of the mantle in the living room. Once finished, she stood back and admired her handiwork, pleased with herself. She glanced over at the items on the coffee table, then at the fireplace. A sly grin slowly spread across her face as she looked around; she heard her mother in the kitchen. The young girl looked back at the items, staring intently on the wood clock.

The clock shuddered a little, then slowly rose into the air; Linda kept her eyes on the object as it hovered over to the mantle. It was halfway to the mantle when Martha came in, carrying a plate of fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies; she stopped short when she saw her daughter staring at the floating clock and raised an eyebrow.

"Trying to make time fly?" Martha asked wryly.

Startled, Linda lost her hold on the clock and it suddenly dropped, but the young girl deftly caught it in her hands; the glanced at her adoptive mother with a sheepish expression. "Sorry, Mom," she said as she manually put the clock on the mantle then did the same with the others.

Martha smiled. "It's okay, sweetie," she said. "Why don't you take a break and have some cookies?" The two headed over to the couch and sat down; Martha put the plate on the coffee table, and Linda grabbed two cookies, munching on the cookie in her right hand while holding the other in her left hand.

"So, is my punishment gonna to be over today?" Linda asked around a mouthful. "It's been, like, forever."

"Only because you're young," Martha replied. "The older you get, the more time seems to just fly by, but it has been a few weeks—and school is starting soon—so I'll talk with your father, and we'll see what he says."

"Hello?"

Martha and Linda looked over and saw Jonathan coming through the kitchen door, holding a medium-sized cardboard box in his hands; he spotted his ladies in the living room, grinned, and shut the door with his foot before heading over. "Hey, you two."

"You're in a good mood," Martha replied, getting to her feet and kissing her husband.

"Well, the deliveries went well," Jonathan replied, "and I have a surprise—two, actually," he glanced over at Linda and saw her staring intently at the box, "and no peeking, Linda."

"So, what's in the box?" Linda asked eagerly.

Still grinning, Jonathan set the box on the coffee table and moved the plate of cookies to the mantle. He took a deep breath and pulled back the top flaps; he reached inside and pulled out a tiny orange kitten with blue eyes; it looked a little undernourished as it gazed up at Linda and gave a small mewl.

"Oh, it's a kitten!" Linda gushed, her eyes wide with delight as Jonathan handed the tiny animal to her; she carefully cradled it in her arms.

"A kitten?" Martha asked, staring at her husband, eyebrows raised.

"Not just a kitten," Jonathan replied. He reached back into the box and pulled out a small, stark white puppy; it shook and whimpered softly in Jonathan's hands and looked just as undernourished as the kitten.

"A puppy!" Linda squealed softly. She gently balanced the kitten in one hand before Jonathan gave her the puppy.

"The puppy's a boy, and the kitten's a girl," Jonathan said. Linda held both of the animals in her arms and gushed over them as Martha pulled her husband aside.

"Jonathan, where did you get them?" she asked.

"I was driving down Route 15," Jonathan answered, "and they were in the middle of the road; I nearly hit them. I couldn't just leave them there, so I took them to the animal shelter, but they told me they were completely full and couldn't take in more animals. Martha, I couldn't just get rid of them, so I took them to Dr. Shultz and had them checked out; he said the puppy is actually a white German Shepherd. They were a little malnourished but otherwise perfectly healthy, and I know you've been wanting to get a dog and cat anyways, so I got them vaccinated and picked up some supplies at the then got them some food and few supplies."

Martha sighed. "Jonathan, you think Linda is ready to have pets?"

"Yes, I do," Jonathan replied, then he smiled. "Besides, we're a haven for strays, so I couldn't resist."

"Well, you're right about that," she replied as she he glanced over at Linda, watching as the young girl gushed at the two animals; Martha sighed, smiling a little. "I guess we can keep them."

"I have a name for the puppy," Linda said proudly as they came back over. "Krypto."

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "Krypto?"

Linda nodded. "He shakes a lot, and I'm afraid if he doesn't stop he'll shake himself apart."

Martha smiled as she glanced over at Jonathan, who looked a little less amused. "And the kitten?" she asked.

"Well, her stripes almost look like little streaks," Linda said, "so I think I'm gonna name her Streaky. Can I show them my room?"

"Sure, sweetie," Jonathan smiled. He and Martha watched as Linda headed up the kitchen stairs, softly talking to her new friends, reassuring them that they were safe and had a new home.

* * *

Linda sat cross-legged on her bed (the frame had been reinforced with steel rods to prevent it collapsing again), with Krypto in her lap. Her gentle manner had caused the puppy to stop trembling and stare up at the young girl with wide brown eyes. Streaky had set it upon herself to explore the room, making sure that everything was sniffed and pawed.

"Now, Krypto," Linda spoke to the puppy in a small, reassuring voice, "I know things are a bit overwhelming right now—I felt the same way when I first came here—but my new family made it easier; they took care of me, just like I'm going to take care of you." Streaky jumped up on the bed and fixed the young girl with curious gaze, and Linda smiled as she scratched the kitten behind her ears. "You too, Streaky." A knock on her bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in." She looked over as the door opened and Jonathan and Martha came in.

"And how are they settling in?" Jonathan asked, smiling.

"So far, so good," Linda replied.

"Linda, your mother and I have something we want to talk to you about," Jonathan said. He came over and sat on the bed while Martha stood next to him. Streaky came over and nuzzled against the farmer; Jonathan chuckled and scratched the kitten behind her ears.

"Am I in trouble again?" Linda asked worriedly.

"No," Jonathan replied, "in fact, we want to let you know that we've talked about it, and as of now, your punishment is officially over."

Linda's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really," Martha said, smiling.

"Just as long as you've learned your lesson," Jonathan added.

"I have," Linda replied.

"And what did you learn?" Martha asked.

"That if someone offers to hotwire my father's truck," Linda answered, "not to agree to it."

Jonathan nodded. "And?"

"There's an 'and?'" Linda asked.

"Yes, there's an 'and,'" Martha replied.

"And…even if Clark contacts me for help," Linda said slowly, "I need to tell you about it?"

"And?" Jonathan prompted.

Linda looked a little confused. "There's another one?" Jonathan gave her a look; she sighed. "Okay, okay," she thought for a moment, "and sneaking out of the house is a very bad thing." Jonathan and Martha looked pleased. "That it?"

"That's it, sweetie," Jonathan said. He patted her knee and kissed her forehead before standing up. "That being said, I'm going to get some work done in the fields."

"And I need to do some work in the garden," Martha replied.

"Well, since I'm not being punished anymore," Linda said, "can I use the phone and call Clark? I want to tell him about Krypto and Streaky."

"Of course," Martha replied. "Just don't be too long. You're starting school day after tomorrow, and there's still a lot of stuff we need to take care of." Linda grinned as her parents headed out of her room. She turned, grabbed the phone off her nightstand, and dialed Clark's work number. It rang once…twice…thr—

"Daily Planet, Clark Kent's desk," a familiar voice answered.

Linda stiffened when she recognized the voice. "Jimmy?" she asked. She hadn't spoken to him since being grounded; while she had made the decision to set aside her romantic feelings she had for the sake of her friendship with Jimmy it still felt a little strange talking to him.

"Linda?" Jimmy asked, sounding just as surprised. "Uh, hi."

"Hi," Linda replied softly. "Did I dial the wrong number?"

"If you're trying to reach Clark, no," Jimmy answered, "but he's in a meeting right now; he's going to be there for a while."

"Oh," Linda said, a little disappointed.

"Is there something I can help you out with?" Jimmy asked.

"No, I just wanted to talk to Clark about something, that's all," Linda said.

"Oh," Jimmy replied, trying not to sound too disappointed, "okay." He sighed. "Well, I guess I'll let you go then."

"Jimmy, wait," Linda said quickly. Despite everything, it wasn't until she'd heard Jimmy's voice that she realized how much she **had** missed talking to someone her own age. "Look, um…I don't exactly have to go right away, so we can talk if you're not busy."

"Linda, if you don't want to, we don't have to," Jimmy said. "I'll understand."

"No, I want to," Linda replied. "Honest."

Jimmy smiled, feeling a whole lot better. "Alright," he said. "So, uh…how are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Linda answered. "I'm finally ungrounded. How about you?"

"Got a couple more days," Jimmy replied. "Chief's still riding me, and Bibbo's making me work extra hours at his place, and then Mom's making sure I have chores lined up when I get home."

"I'm sorry," Linda said sincerely.

"Hey, I'm still alive," Jimmy replied, shrugging. "So, what's going on?"

"Well, I got two pets today," Linda answered.

"Wow, really?" Jimmy asked. "That's really cool; I've always wanted a pet. What did you get?"

Linda grinned more. "I got an orange kitten—and I named her Streaky."

"Streaky?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, she's got the stripes on her that look like streaks," Linda replied. "I also got a white puppy, and I decided to name him Krypto."

"Krypto?" Jimmy asked. "As in 'Krypton?'"

"Yeah," Linda replied. "He was shaking so much, and I remembered reading about how Krypton exploded, so I decided on Krypto."

Jimmy chuckled, realizing that he had really missed hearing Linda's voice. He sat down in Clark's chair and started straightening the stuff on his friend's desk; he figured he had at least a good ten minutes before Clark came back, and the young photographer was going to make the most of it. "So," he said, "tell me more about your new pets, Linda."

Linda smiled as she settled back against her pillows, letting Krypto and Streaky crawl all over her as she continued talking with Jimmy.

(End of Chapter 1)


	2. Chapter 2

It was early evening, and Linda was mucking out the last stall in the barn while Krypto and Streaky were exploring nearby, when a large figured loomed unnoticed behind her. Streaky sat near the loft stairs and watched curiously as Krytpo cautiously padded over on knobby legs. He sniffed the figure's leg, then looked up; trying to act big and brave, he let out a tiny bark. He was so startled by his own noise that he skittered back to Linda, shaking as he hid between her legs. Linda looked down and smiled as she balanced her pitchfork against the nearby wheelbarrow, bent down, picking up the small puppy.

"Scared yourself, huh?" she asked.

"So that's the infamous Krypto."

Linda turned around and saw Clark standing behind her, dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans, and work boots, looking somewhat amused. She grinned and came over, hugging her cousin around the waist with one arm while holding Krypto in her other. Clark smiled and hugged her back.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey, yourself, Short Stack," Clark said.

"So, I guess Jimmy told you I called."

"Yeah," Clark replied before he looked around. "So, where's the other half of the dynamic duo?" He finally spotted the young kitten watching him curiously from her perch on the stairs. Clark raised an eyebrow at the kitten's unblinking expression—it was a bit creepy. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked back at Linda.

"So, did you come here to see them," Linda asked as she put Krypto down and went back to her mucking, "or did you miss me?" She shot a brief, girlish grin up at her.

Clark chuckled. "Both," he said. "So, I just talked with Mom and Dad, and they said you are officially ungrounded."

"I am so glad," Linda replied as she went back to mucking. "And please don't ask me to tell you what I've learned; I already had to do it with Mom and Dad, and that was plenty." She suddenly let go of the pitchfork and turned around to face her cousin, hands on her hips. "You know, I get them being upset, I really do, but I still think three weeks was a bit much." She saw Clark staring over her shoulder with an odd expression on his face. "What?"

"Will you please stop doing that?" Clark asked, pointing.

Linda glanced over her shoulder and saw the pitchfork hanging in midair, still moving and mucking out the stall as if held by invisible hands. The young girl grinned and turned back around. "Why should I?" she asked playfully.

Clark sighed. "Look, I'm glad you're getting a better hold on your telekinesis, but that's just showing off."

"You're just jealous," Linda replied, but she held out her hand; the pitchfork flew expertly to her and she deftly caught it. "Although, I can only do small things right now; anything really big still zaps my energy." She shifted into superspeed and quickly finished the stall and put everything back where it belonged in less than two seconds. "You are staying for dinner, right?"

"Of course," Clark replied, smiling.

Linda grinned before picking up Krypto and Streaky; she headed out of the barn with Clark beside her. The two cousins headed up the porch and walked in through the kitchen door. Martha and Jonathan were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. They looked up as their children walked in, smiling.

"And there they are," Jonathan said, smiling. "Dinner's ready, you two."

"I'll go wash up," Linda replied as she put the animals down; she blurred up the stairs while Clark helped his parents brought food over to the table and sat down. Linda blurred back down a few seconds later; she had changed into a pair of cutoff denim shorts with frayed edges and a green tanktop. Her hair was pulled back into a loose braid, and her glasses were propped on her head like a headband; she sat down at the table with her family. "Sorry I took so long."

"You're perfectly fine, Linda," Jonathan said, smiling. The four Kents began passing the various platters around—roast with potatoes and carrots—green bean almondine, and homemade yeast rolls; soon, the family was eating.

"So, Linda, are you looking forward to starting school tomorrow?" Clark asked Linda.

"Can I answer 'yes' and 'no'?" Linda replied honestly after she nibbled a small potato wedge.

"Linda, you're going to be just fine," Jonathan said gently.

"I know," Linda replied, "but is it okay if I still feel nervous about it?"

"Of course," Martha replied.

"You know," Clark said, "it wasn't that long ago I was in your shoes. I could give you a few pointers, if you'd like."

"Like what?" Linda asked, her eyes dancing with curious sparkle Clark found absolutely adorable.

"Well," Clark said, "first thing you want to do when you get there is make sure you…."

* * *

Linda awoke bright and early, two hours before her alarm clock was supposed to go off. She grinned and carefully climbed out of bed while Krypto and Streaky lay curled up at the foot of her bed, sleeping soundly. The young girl quickly got dressed in her work clothes and carefully tiptoed out the room and down the stairs to the kitchen. All the lights were off, and it was still dark outside, but Linda's sharp vision still made out the silhouette of her adopted father sitting at his place at the kitchen table, dressed in his work clothes, and drinking from his favorite mug.

Jonathan took a sip from his mug, staring out the window into the inky blackness of the early morning world, enjoying the silence. When he heard the familiar creak behind him, he didn't turn around; he just simply smiled.

"Good morning, sweetie," he said softly. Linda was a bit startled, but she didn't say anything. "You want to join me?" Linda hesitated for a few moments, but she quietly walked over and took the seat next to her father; he smiled warmly at her. "Now, why are you up at this hour? You should be sleeping."

"I wanted to help with the chores," Linda said.

"Linda, we talked about that last night," Jonathan replied gently. "It's your first day of school; it's going to be a busy day, and you'll need all the rest you can get."

"I know," Linda said, "but I just couldn't sleep anymore. I'm a little nervous." She looked a little embarrassed.

Jonathan chuckled a little and reached over, taking her hand in his; he squeezed it gently. "Linda Kent," he said, his voice reassuring, "you are going to be just fine."

"What if no one wants to be my friend?" Linda asked, her smile fading.

"I don't think you're going to have that problem," Jonathan answered. "You're smart, you're funny, and you have this wonderful personality." He let go of her hand and reached up to cradle her face. "If they have a problem with any of that, then they don't deserve you as a friend." Linda smiling, and Jonathan leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Now, would you please try to get some more rest?"

"Are you sure I can't help you out?" Linda asked.

"I'm sure," Jonathan replied, smiling.

"Okay," Linda said as she got up from the table; she'd never admit it, but talking with her adopted father had been very relaxing. Before leaving, she hugged Jonathan and kissed his cheek before heading back upstairs. Jonathan waited until he heard the sound of her door shutting before he smiled, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then took another sip of his coffee.

* * *

The red truck pulled up to the side of Smallville High School and stopped beside the curb. The passenger side door opened, and Linda slowly stepped out. She wore a royal blue tailor cut blouse with three-quarters sleeves and mother of pearl buttons, black pants that fit snugly, and black flats; her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and she had on a light hint of makeup. She looked around in awe at the crowd of students—people her own age—streamed in to building; a large, goldenrod banner hung over the front entrance, with the words 'Welcome Back, Crows!' in big red letters. Linda's eyes widened a little as she pushed her glasses up on her nose, trying to hide how nervous she felt.

"Linda?" Martha asked from inside the truck. The young girl looked over at her adoptive mother. "You have everything you need? Your notebooks and all your supplies?"

Linda nodded and held up her purple backpack. "All here."

"And your lunch money?" Jonathan asked from the driver's seat.

Linda patted the small zippered pocket on the front of her pack. "Right here." She looked up and saw her parents looked just as nervous as she felt, and she took a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'll go in now." Jonathan and Martha both forced smiles, but Linda could tell they were worried about her—even without using her telekinesis.

"If you have any problems," Martha said, "please don't hesitate to call us." Linda nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Linda?" Jonathan said.

The young girl stopped and looked inside the truck. "Yes, Dad?"

"Make it a good day, and remember that we love you," Jonathan replied, smiling.

Linda smiled and nodded before closing the door. She waved as the truck pulled away and headed down the street. Once gone from view, the young girl turned around, standing and watching the activity in front of her for a few seconds.

"Okay, girl," she said softly to herself as she slung her backpack over her left shoulder, "let's do this." She took a deep breath before walking up to the school and heading inside with the rest of the students.

(End of Chapter 2)


	3. Chapter 3

Linda looked around uneasily at the cacophony of noise and activity in the hallway, thinking back to the last time she was there. It had been quiet and empty, allowing Linda the opportunity to see the banners and posters on the walls, the colorful lockers, and the hard floors. Now, it was like a different world, with actual living, breathing students talking in small groups, shouting and laughing, and heading off to their classes. The young girl felt out of place…like she did when she first arrived on Earth. Her stomach knotted as she racked her brain, deciding what to do. She wanted to suck it up and stay to show her parents and Clark that she could handle herself, but she also wanted run back home and hide under the safety of her soft covers.

"Linda Kent?"

Linda looked over as a boy her age approached her, smiling. He was tall—about as tall as Clark, Linda noticed—with light wavy brown hair and brown eyes; he wore a dark blue shirt, faded jeans, and sneakers, and he had a black backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Yes?" Linda asked.

"Dick Malverne," he said, holding out his hand. "Principal Jefferson asked if I could show you around school today."

"Hi," Linda replied slowly as she shook his hand.

"Ooh, strong grip," Dick said as he let go and wriggled his fingers a little.

"Sorry," Linda replied, looking very worried. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Dick chuckled. "No, of course not," he said. "Just surprised, considering."

Linda crossed her arms. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, slightly defensive.

Dick's smile slowly faded as he tried to explain his reasoning. "I just meant that you don't seem like someone who could…" he trailed off as Linda raised an eyebrow, her expression almost daring him to finish that sentence, "um…yeah, why don't I show you to your first class?" He didn't wait for a response as he quickly turned and headed down the hall; Linda followed him.

"So, do you always comment on someone's grip when you first meet them?" Linda asked as she walked next to him.

"No, of course not," Dick replied.

"So, you only did it for the new girl," Linda stated.

"No, of course not," Dick repeated, his cheeks growing warm.

Linda couldn't help but smile; she could tell he hadn't meant to offend her. "Farm chores," she said.

"Huh?" Dick asked, confused.

"Farm chores," Linda repeated. "I live on a farm, and I have to do chores; they require a lot of upper body strength."

Dick appeared to relax a little but decided to change the subject. "So, uh, aside from your first impression of me and my big mouth, what do you think about Smallville High so far? Mrs. Jefferson said you'd been homeschooled up until now."

"Well, it's crowded," Linda admitted. "How do you all find your ways around here?"

Dick chuckled, relaxing more. "Very carefully, but you're in luck: we both have the same first class, and I know where to go." He expertly maneuvered his way through the students—Linda following close behind—and walked down the hall. They headed into the last room on the right side and over to one of the lab tables in the middle. They both sat down, and Dick started rummaging through his backpack as Linda looked around. Some students sat at other tables, talking and laughing, while other students filed in; one student wheeled an old projector towards the middle of the classroom, and Dick groaned softly.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered softly.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked.

"You'll see," Dick answered as the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

A door in the front of the room swung open, and a man in his mid-thirties walked in. He appeared average looking, with dark brown hair and blue eyes; he wore jeans, a white shirt with a tan sports jacket over it, and tan loafers. He smiled as he put a briefcase on the front desk.

"Good morning, class," he said. "My name is Mr. Collins. Welcome back to school, and welcome to your first day of Biology." He walked around to the front of his desk and leaned against it, resting his hands on the edge. "Now, I'm sure all of you have heard the horror stories of the film we're about to see, and I'm here to set the record straight: they're all true." There was a smattering of chuckles from some of the students.

"That being said," Mr. Collins continued, "let's get the suffering started." There was some groaning in the class as the teacher walked back to the back of the class, dimmed the lights, and started the projector. Everyone watched the screen as the film started.

"All members of the animal kingdom," the narrator on the video stated, "from the simplest one-celled organism to the most complex of mammals, engage in reproduction."

Linda glanced over at Dick and was a little surprised to see how uncomfortable he appeared. She turned her head slightly and saw several other students looking just as uncomfortable. Sighing, she rested her head on her hands as the narrator droned on, letting her thoughts wander aimlessly.

"In many species," the narrator continued, "the females attract their mates with chemical scents called pheromones. Pheromones are used to elicit specific behaviors from members of the opposite sex…."

The young girl suddenly found herself thinking about the night she and Jimmy had danced. She paused, wondering if she should stop, considering she and Jimmy had decided to be friends, but the events of that evening continued playing in her head as she remembered how nice it felt to be in his arms…the soft feel of his lips against hers…

Linda suddenly felt beads of sweat against her face and neck; her heart rate and breathing increase as her head began to burn right behind her eyes. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, hoping to get rid of the sensation, but it only increased. As she faced the front, she saw a brief flash of deep orange wash over her eyes before two waves of heat shot out, hitting the screen in four intense—and almost simultaneous—bursts. Flames quickly engulfed the screen, and students scrambled to their feet in panic.

**"**Okay, everybody walk, do not run!" Mr. Collins said. "Leave your books. Go!"

Linda watched the screen in disbelief, knowing what had happened, but still horrified by what she had caused. Dick stood up and headed for the door but saw Linda staying put; he grabbed her hand. "Come on, Linda, let's go," he said, pulling her towards the door. Linda managed to grab her glasses and put them on as they headed out of the room.

* * *

Linda sat on the ground and leaned against a tree on the other side of the street, keeping her eyes focused on the concrete as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. She knew her heat vision had just kicked in, but she couldn't figure out what had triggered it in the first place. She sighed as she hugged her legs close to her, resting her head on her knees.

"Linda?" Dick asked as he approached with five other people.

"Yes?" Linda asked, not looking up.

"I have some friends I want you to meet," Dick replied cautiously, seeing her melancholy expression. "Look, the fire's put out, no one was hurt," he gave a wry smile, "and you'll always remember your first day of school here." Linda didn't even crack a smile, and Dick sighed, but before he could say anything else Pete approached the group. "Sheriff Ross."

"Would you guys mind if I had a few words with Miss Kent?" Pete asked. "Oh, Mr. Malverne, one of my deputies wants to get your statement. Thank you." The six students left, and Pete glanced down at Linda before sitting down beside her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Not really," Linda whispered. "I caused the fire, Pete."

"Yeah, I figured that when we got the call," Pete replied, "but it's okay."

"How?" Linda asked.

"Well, it happened to Clark when we took Biology," Pete replied, a small smile on his face. "It even happened during the same film." He put an arm around her shoulders. "Why don't I take you home?"

"But school's not over," Linda said. "Won't Mom and Dad be mad if I come home early?"

"All things considered," Pete replied, "I don't think they'll mind." He helped the young girl to her feet.

Dick had been keeping his eyes on the two as he gave his statement to the deputy; the teenager watched the two walked to Pete's squad car and got in; he furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity as he watched the car drove off.

(End of Chapter 3)


	4. Chapter 4

Martha held a woven basket, humming an old Cole Porter song as she picked green beans in the garden; Jonathan was out in the fields, spreading manure with the tractor as the cows munched lazily on the grass. She saw movement out of her peripheral vision and glanced over as Pete's patrol car approached. Martha smiled as the car pulled up and beside the blue truck, but her smile slowly disappeared when she spotted Linda in the passenger's seat; she put down the basket and hurried over as Pete got out of the car.

"What happened?" Martha asked worriedly.

"Linda's fine," Pete reassured her, "but, um, her heat vision kicked in."

Martha looked a little surprised, but she glanced over at Linda, who looked both miserable and a little fearful; she looked back at Pete. "Well, since it's still early in the morning, I'm going to assume it happened during Biology?"

"Same film," Pete added.

"Would you mind getting Jonathan, Pete?" Martha asked. "I'll take Linda inside." Pete nodded and headed towards the fields while Martha headed for the passenger's side.

* * *

Jonathan hurried as he could up the porch steps and into the house as Pete's car drove off. He stopped in the kitchen and saw Martha and Linda sitting at the table; Linda cradled a mug of tea in her hands, and she kept her eyes closed; Krypto and Streaky sat near the stairs, watching the women, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Pete told me what happened," Jonathan said softly, looking at his daughter. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I nearly burn down the school on my first day because I have heat shooting from my eyes," Linda said softly as she put her mug down. "How do you think I feel?"

Jonathan walked over and sat down across his daughter. "Honey, it's going to be okay," he said gently as he reached over and took one of her hands. "The good thing about this is that we know what causes it," he glanced briefly at his wife, "and we can help you get it under control."

"So, what triggers it?" Linda asked.

Jonathan looked a little uncomfortable, but he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Linda, do you—"

"Jonathan," Martha interrupted gently, "why don't I take this one, okay?"

Jonathan looked over at his wife, feeling both relieved and a little disappointed; he sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll let you two have your girl talk time, but," he got up and walked around the table, kneeling beside his daughter, "before I go, I'd feel a lot better if you'd open your eyes, Linda."

"Are you sure?" Linda asked cautiously.

"Very," Jonathan replied. "Now, please open you eyes." He watched as the young girl carefully opened her eyes; Jonathan smiled when he saw their familiar sapphire color. "There; that's my girl." He carefully kissed her forehead before standing up. "Now, while you two are in here talking, I'm going to go rig up a few scarecrows. I have a feeling we'll be needing them."

Martha and Linda watched him leave then Linda glanced at her mother. "So, what triggers it," she saw Martha's slightly uncomfortable expression, "and why does everyone look uncomfortable when I ask that question?"

"Well," Martha said slowly, "it's just that…well, this is a delicate topic of conversation, Linda, that's all," he took a deep breath, "and before we go into this any further, why don't you get into some more comfortable clothes—I'll get the ice cream."

Linda nodded and stood up, heading for the stairs; Krypto and Streaky followed her. The young woman went to her bedroom and changed from her school clothes into a pair of black lounge pants and a purple tanktop. She came back down with the pets at her heels and saw Martha had moved to the living room couch; two bowls of butter pecan ice cream were waiting on coffee table. Krypto and Streaky scampered over to the

"Well," Martha said slowly, as Linda sat down beside her, "let's talk about your heat vision." She handed one of the bowls to her daughter, and Linda observed how nervous she still appeared.

"You said it was a delicate subject," Linda replied as she took the bowl and scooped up some ice cream. "How delicate are we talking?"

Martha pursed her lips and took a deep breath, deciding it was best not to beat around the bush. "Well, uh," she said, "do you remember the video you were watching in biology?"

"You mean the one about the animals mating?" Linda asked, confused, then looked a little freaked out. "My heat vision is connected to animals mating?"

"Well, there **is** a hormonal connection," Martha replied wryly as she ate a spoonful of ice cream herself.

"But I don't get it," Linda said. "I mean, I wasn't even paying attention to the video."

"You weren't?" Martha asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Linda shook her head. "No, I was thinking back to the night Jimmy and I were—" she suddenly felt the backs of her eyes burning as her entire body grew hot. She dropped her bowl as she grabbed the sides of her head in pain, shouting; Martha looked on in concern as beads of sweat formed on Linda's forehead. Linda quickly removed her glasses—right before the beams of heat shot out and hit the wall above the television; flames burst from the point of impact.

Martha wasted no time as she jumped from the couch and hurried into the kitchen; she grabbed the fire extinguisher and ran back into the living room. She quickly put the fire out, sighing with relief as she looked over at Linda. She saw the young girl on the verge of tears, looking completely horrified.

"Linda, it's okay," Martha said gently as she took a step toward the girl.

"Stay away from me," Linda replied, backing up. She looked between the damage on the wall to her pets cowering behind the couch, then back at her mother. "I'm sorry." She quickly blurred out of the house, leaving the kitchen door open.

* * *

Clark sat as his desk, typing his article on the computer when his phone rang. Still typing with one hand, he picked up his phone with the other. "Clark Kent," he said, a little distracted; he smiled. "Oh, hey, Mom, how's—" he stopped and listened, and his eyebrows furrowed and his expression changed to worry. "What? When?" He listened then he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'll get on it right away." He hung up and typed some keys, saving his story.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked as she came over.

"I gotta go to Smallville," Clark replied, keeping his voice low. "Linda's starting to warm to her new life."

Chloe's eyes widened a little as she cracked the code. "Whoa," she said softly.

"Yeah, and guess when it happened," Clark replied, squirming a little in his chair.

Chloe saw Clark's uncomfortable expression, and she slowly smiled. "You know, maybe it's time to start calling it 'horny vision.'"

"Chloe, please," Clark replied, his cheeks growing pink, "it's bad enough Linda already thinks Jimmy wants to mate with her."

Chloe suddenly looked confused. "I'm sorry, say that again?"

Clark suddenly stiffened, remembering Chloe-and Lois-didn't know what had happened with Jimmy and Linda. "Uh…nevermind," he said quickly. "Forget what I said."

"Why would Linda think Jimmy wants to mate with her?" Chloe asked, trying not to smile a little.

Clark sighed after his computer shut down. "Look, I gotta go," he said, "but please don't ask, and please don't snoop around."

"I won't," Chloe replied. "So, what should I say to Perry about your latest absence?"

"Well, whatever it is," Clark answered, "make it better than the last excuse, please."

Chloe grinned. "Not enjoying your 'Cheese of the Month' subscription?" she asked. Clark gave her a look as he headed for the stairs. She sighed, still grinning, before heading back to her desk.

(End of Chapter 4)


	5. Chapter 5

Superman soared high above Smallville as he searched for his cousin. He did a visual scan of the area—using normal, x-ray, telescopic, and even infrared—but he couldn't find any sign of her. He stopped in midair, hovering, and closed his eyes.

[Linda?] Nothing. [Linda?]

[Go away, Clark.]

Superman sighed with relief. [Honey, I can't do that. Where are you?]

[Where I can't hurt anyone. Please leave me alone.]

Superman felt the mental block as Linda put it up, and he wondered if this is how his parents felt when he was Linda's age. He sighed and dove toward the earth, making another visual sweep. He switched to his superhearing, and quickly picked up the sounds of familiar crying; he turned and flew off in the direction of the sound, landing in a clearing near the forest around Saunder's Gorge. He saw Linda sitting on the ground next to tree, her knees were pulled to her chest, her head down, and Clark could hear the sounds of her sobs. The hero quietly changed into his civilian clothes and slowly approached his cousin, sitting down beside her; he didn't say a word as he put an arm around her shoulders. The young girl flinched as her head jerked up.

"Hey," Clark said quietly.

Linda turned away, wiping her eyes. "Go away," she whispered.

"Can't do that," Clark replied. "We need to go home."

Linda shook her head. "I'm can't go back there."

"Why not?" Clark asked.

"Because I don't want to hurt anyone," the young girl answered, keeping her eyes closed and her head turned from her cousin. "I nearly burned the school down, and then I nearly burned down the house." She started crying fresh tears. "What if someone had gotten hurt because of me?"

"But no one did," Clark said.

"For now," Linda said angrily as she pounded a fist against the ground, leaving a deep hole at the site of impact. "I don't want my powers anymore; I want them to just go away!"

Clark felt his heart clench as he pulled Linda close and just held her, letting her cry onto his shoulder. "I know it's hard, Linda," he said quietly, "and I used to feel the same way, but I learned how to control it; you will too."

"And what about the damage to the house?" Linda asked. "I burned a wall."

Clark chuckled a little. "You should have seen the damage **I** caused to the house when I was younger; Mom and Dad had to do so many repairs that they ran up a tab at the hardware store." He was thankful Linda gave him a slight smile. "Trust me, Mom and Dad are used to this; they're not going to be angry." He took a deep breath, trying not to look too uncomfortable. "Now, what do you say we, uh…we try to get this under control?"

"Okay, I really don't understand why everyone is so uncomfortable about this," Linda asked.

"Yeah, I'll leave that talk to Mom and Dad," Clark replied slowly, taking in a deep breath, "but right now, I'm here to help you get it under control. That being said…I know you were in biology class," he squirmed a little, "watching a film on animal and human," he cleared his throat, "reproduction, so I'm pretty sure I know what you were feeling."

"Clark, the film was boring," Linda said. "I wasn't even paying attention to it."

"Then what happened?" Clark asked.

"I started thinking about the night Jimmy and I danced in the loft," Linda answered, "and then when he kissed me…." she blinked several times before she suddenly grabbed the sides of her head and shouted in pain as her eyes flashed deep orange; heat beams shot out, blasting the ground, carving a couple of deep furrows in the soil. Linda quickly covered her face with her hands as she closed her eyes; the beams immediately stopped, but Linda kept her face hidden as she burst into fresh tears.

"I'm never gonna get this under control," Linda said, sobbing. "I don't even know what's setting it off."

"Yes, you will," Clark said as he wrapped his arms around his cousin, "and I think I know what's triggering it." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to push past his uncomfortable feelings at the moment, knowing there was something more important he had to deal with; he got to his feet and carefully helped Linda to hers. "Come on, Short Stack. Let's get to work."

* * *

Jonathan and Martha sat at the kitchen table, drinking from their mugs, while Streaky and Krypto hung out underneath, huddled together; occasionally, Martha would glance over at the screen door, softly sighing.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure Clark has found her by now," Jonathan said after his wife sighed for the tenth time. "If he hadn't, he would have called us."

"I know," Martha replied, "but it's been over five hours, and you didn't see the look on Linda's face before she ran off…Jonathan, it was the same look of fear she had her first night here." The kitchen door opened and Clark walked in; Linda followed, holding his hand, looking a little tired. Both Martha and Jonathan got up from their spots and rushed and hurried to Linda; Martha was the first to reach her and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, thank goodness," Martha said, holding her daughter tightly, smoothing hair from her face. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Linda nodded, and Martha hugged the young girl again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jonathan pressed gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"She's fine," Clark said, "and we only went through ten boulders, three trees, and one side of a cliff." Jonathan and Martha gave him an odd expression. "We practiced near Saunder's Gorge."

"So, we're okay on the heat vision now?" Jonathan asked cautiously, glancing back at his daughter, raising an eyebrow.

Linda looked around the kitchen and spotted a candle on the counter. She stared at it intently, and her eyes flashed deep orange before two thin—and brief—beams of heat shot out; they hit the wick, and a small flame to start flickering and dancing in place. Her eyes quickly returned to normal, and she glanced at her parents, looking nervous.

"I'll take that as a big yes," Martha replied, looking relieved as she smiled a little.

"I'm sorry about the wall," Linda said, looking apologetic.

"Linda, you don't have to apologize," Jonathan replied gently. "This is part of learning how to control your abilities; Clark went through the same things."

"Can I at least help fix the damage?" Linda asked.

"Already done," Jonathan answered. "Now, I believe you and your mother have a little talk to finish?"

Linda nodded, then looked around. "What about Streaky and Krypto?" she asked. "Are they okay?" She suddenly felt something touching her legs, and she looked down to see both kitten and puppy at her feet; Streaky was intertwining herself between Linda's legs, and Krypto had a paw on her shoe, looking up at the young girl expectantly. Linda smiled and reached down, carefully picking up both animals.

"I think they're gonna be just fine," Jonathan replied, smiling.

"Linda, why don't we finish this talk upstairs in your room?" Martha suggested, smiling. Linda nodded and carried both animals upstairs; Martha followed her.

"So, is she really okay?" Jonathan asked Clark after the girls were out of sight.

"I think so," Clark replied honestly, stuffing his hands in his pockets, shifting a little.

"Clark," Jonathan said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder, "we knew this topic was going to come up once her heat vision kicked in," he raised an eyebrow, "and your mother and I figured Jimmy would be involved as well." Clark looked over, surprised, and Jonathan smiled a little. "Your mother told me Linda mentioned Jimmy before she got hot under the collar."

"And you know how hard it's going to be knowing Linda has **those** feelings for someone I work with?" Clark asked, "and he might have **those** for her, too."

"Well, Clark, it's perfectly normal to have **those** feelings," Jonathan replied, "whether you're human or alien, but you know it's all about how you deal with them: Jimmy and Linda agreed to be friends, Linda's got her heat vision under control, and I don't see many opportunities for them to interact with each other in the near future; I really don't think there's a lot we have to worry about at the moment." He raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath. "And as for being around Jimmy, well, he obviously doesn't know what's going on, so it wouldn't be fair to treat him differently."

"Easier said than done," Clark said, glancing over at his father and seeing the semi-stern expression, and he sighed, "but I'll do my best."

"Thank you," Jonathan replied, satisfied, patting Clark's shoulder. "Now, do you have to get back right away, or can you stay for dinner?"

"I think I can manage," Clark answered, smiling, as he and his father headed out the kitchen door. "Chloe said she'd cover for me."

"So, should we be expecting any more cheese wheels in the near future?" Jonathan asked jokingly.

"Oh, I really hope not," Clark said as they headed toward the barn. "If I never see any more wheels of cheese that smell like feet, it'll be too soon." Jonathan laughed as he threw an arm around his son.

(End of Chapter 5)


	6. Chapter 6

Later that evening, the Kents sat at the dinner table, enjoying the delicious meal that Martha and Linda had prepared together: homemade chicken fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh-from-the-garden corn on the cob and green beans, and freshly-squeezed lemonade. Krypto and Streaky were upstairs in Linda's room, sleeping.

"Martha, Linda," Jonathan said after swallowing a mouthful of green beans, "you have both outdone yourselves."

"Yeah, this is really good," Clark mumbled around his mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Well, Linda did most of the work," Martha replied, smiling, "and she did a wonderful job." Linda smiled as she cut up more of her steak. Someone knocked on the kitchen door, and Joanthan stood up to answer it; he opened the door and saw an unfamiliar—and tall—teenager with brown hair standing on the porch.

"Can I help you?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," the teenager said, "but does Linda Kent live here?"

"Dick?" Linda asked when she recognized the voice; she got to her feet and walked over, smiling when she saw him. "Hi."

"Hey, Linda," Dick replied, smiling back.

"What are you doing here?" Linda asked. She saw Jonathan give her a look that said 'manners, young lady,' and Linda nodded quickly. "Oh, um, Dick, would you like to come on in?" She and Jonathan stood aside, letting the teenager in; Clark and Martha stood up and walked over. "Dick, I'd like you to meet my foster parents, and that's my cousin, Clark. Guys, this is Dick Malverne."

Dick first shook Jonathan's hand, then Martha's and Clark's. "Nice to meet you," he said politely.

"So, Dick, how do you know Linda?" Martha asked.

"I was assigned to help her get to her classes," Dick answered, "make sure she knew her way around school."

"And we have biology together," Linda added. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, uh," Dick answered, "you forgot your backpack at school when you left with Sheriff Ross," he held up the purple bag that everyone just noticed he carried, "so I said I'd return it."

"You came all the way out here just to return my backpack?" Linda asked.

"Well, yeah," Dick said, shrugging. "Figured your first day of school was memorable enough without losing your stuff. Oh, and your teachers asked me to give you your homework, too; it's in your backpack."

"Thank you," Linda replied, smiling, touched.

Dick smiled, but then he saw the expressions on Jonathan and Clark's faces, and he suddenly cleared his throat, looking a little nervous. "Well, uh, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," he said quickly.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Martha asked, ignoring the expressions Jonathan and Clark gave her. "We're having homemade chicken fried steak; Linda made it."

Dick glanced down and saw Linda looking a little embarrassed, and he smiled. "I'm sure it tastes wonderful," he said, "but I actually have to get home; I just told my parents I'd drop Linda's stuff off." He nodded at them. "It was nice to meet you," He looked at Linda, and his smile increased slightly. "Goodnight, Linda."

"Goodnight, Dick," Linda replied, smiling back as she watched him leave.

"Well, he seems like a nice young man," Martha replied after the door closed.

"Yeah," Linda replied, still staring at the door. "Hey, would it be okay if I work on my homework?"

"What about the rest of dinner?" Jonathan asked. Linda responded by blurring over to the table and shoveling all the food from her plate into her mouth at superspeed; in less than a second, she was smiling at her family, chewing with her cheeks puffed out.

"I'm done," she mumbled.

Jonathan sighed, but he smiled a little. "Go on," he said. Linda smiled and kissed his cheek before blurring upstairs. He glanced at Clark, who was grinning himself. "You know, she learned that from you."

"I know," Clark replied proudly as he headed back to the table with his parents. "You know, about Dick…."

"Clark," Martha said, giving him a look.

"Mom, I don't trust the guy," Clark replied. "You know what kind of guy comes to a girl's house to bring her homework and backpack?"

"A guy who's interested in said girl?" Martha asked, amused.

"Exactly," Jonathan replied as he pushed food around on his plate, "which means he's up to no good."

"Would you two knock it off?" Martha asked. "There is nothing wrong with a guy being interested in Linda; it was bound to happen eventually."

"Didn't we have this conversation when we found out Jimmy was interested in her?" Jonathan asked.

"Can't believe Linda's been here only three months and she's already got two guys interested in her," Clark muttered before eating a forkful of green beans.

"Maybe that's a good thing," Martha replied.

"Please explain how it's a good thing having two guys interested in our daughter, sweetheart?" Jonathan asked.

"Linda needs to interact with people her own age," Martha replied, "and with someone who lives a little closer than Metropolis."

"I, for one, would feel better if she interacted with people her own age **and** gender," Jonathan replied.

"I'll second that," Clark replied.

Martha smiled a little, knowing her men were just being their normal protective selves. The three of them continued eating in silence.

* * *

Lex walked into Donovan's lab and saw the eccentric scientist fiddling with a high-powered microscope. The businessman sighed softly, annoyed at being called out of an important meeting, even though he knew he would never dare discuss such a sensitive subject over the phone; any interaction had to be done in person.

"You called, Donovan?" Lex said.

"I've made an interesting discovery in the project," Donovan replied without looking up.

Lex waited a few moments for Donovan to continue, but the scientist remained silent. "And?" Lex asked, frustrated.

Donovan looked up and indicated the microscope. "See for yourself." Lex eyed the scientist for a moment then he walked over and looked through the lenses. He saw the pink-purple plasma substance he had given Donovan last month; the molecular structure of the substance was unusual, but there was nothing about it that really stood out as extraordinary.

"Enlighten me, Donovan," Lex said. "I'm not impressed."

Donovan took an electric probe near the microscope, turned it on, and touched the tip of it to the substance. Electricity flowed into the substance, and Lex watched as the substance's molecular structure changed. Amazed, the businessman looked up and saw the actual shape of the substance had morphed from a simple blob to a small cube.

"What did you do?" Lex asked in awe.

"Just applied a slight electrical stimulation," Donovan replied. "The results speak for themselves, Lex," he set the probe down, "and they change everything. Whatever this is, it has the potential for unlimited possibilities."

"I'm hearing a 'but' in there," Lex said.

"I just don't think it will offer any answers to where it came from or if it has any connection to Superman," Donovan answered, "or the girl."

"Can it be harnessed?" Lex asked.

"Well, more tests will need to be run, of course," Donovan replied. "I'll need more samples."

"You run your tests with that sample," Lex instructed as he headed for the door.

"I can't run all the tests I need to with the small sample," Donovan protested

Lex stopped and turned around. "Make do with it," he threatened, before turning on his heel and walked out of the lab.

Donovan narrowed his eyes, his hands clenched and shaking. He glanced down at the plasma cube then smirked a little bit; he hated being Lex's lap dog, but the scientist knew one day he would break free from the businessman's tight leash.

Donovan would make sure of it.

(End of Chapter 6)


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning Linda walked down the main hall of the school. She knew she wouldn't have to worry about her new ability causing problems, but she still felt a little nervous by what had happened yesterday.

"Hey, there you are!" Linda turned around and saw Dick approaching her, smiling. "Was kind of wondering if you were going to make it."

"Well, I kinda had no choice," Linda said, smiling back as they walked down the hall. "Mom and Dad said I had to go, and here I am. Oh, and thanks again for bringing me my stuff last night."

"Did you get all your homework done?" Dick asked. Linda nodded, and Dick took a deep breath. "So, I didn't want to ask last night with your family around, and I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you leave yesterday? The fire wasn't that bad."

Linda stiffened, totally caught off guard. "Uh," she said slowly, racking her brain for a plausible excuse, "a panic attack?"

Dick furrowed a little. "You didn't seem like you were having a panic attack," he said.

"Yeah," Linda replied, "it always starts quietly with me before I get into full-blown panic mode; Pete—Sheriff Ross—recognized it, so he took me home. I rested, and as you saw last night," she smiled, "I recovered."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Dick said, smiling. "Smallville High's a really nice school; we actually have days where there **isn't** a fire emergency." He grinned at his joke, and he was relieved that she chuckled. "So, you ready to try this again?"

"Definitely," Linda replied as they continued down the hall.

* * *

Linda stared at her tray in disbelief. She knew the contents were supposed to be her lunch—pizza with sausage, green beans, peaches in syrup, a brownie, and a carton of milk—but the young girl wasn't so sure: the pizza looked like a rectangular piece of cardboard with tomato sauce and fake cheese; the sausage looked and smelled like black licorice—one of the few candies she **didn't** like. After three months of homegrown green beans, the cafeteria's looked like wax replicas—same with the peaches—and the brownie looked like a slightly overcooked square of chocolate bread with no icing (her mother would always frost her brownies.) The milk looked harmless enough, but Linda was accustomed to milk from a glass bottle, so she wasn't sure what to make of the paper carton next to her plate.

"Hey, Linda!"

Linda looked up and saw Dick waving to her from a table across the cafeteria. Relieved to see a familiar face in the unfamiliar crowd. The young girl made her way over to Dick's table and noticed him sitting with five other people.

"Hi, Dick," Linda replied.

"Guys, this is Linda Kent," Dick said. "Linda," he used his fork to point to each of the five people with him, "Mattie Harcourt, Cutter Sharp, Wally Danvers, Andrea "Andy" Martinez, and Buzz."

Linda quickly studied each of the five individuals as Dick pointed to them. Mattie had cocoa-colored skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, and she wore a stylish green, short-sleeved t-shirt, tight jeans, and sneakers. Cutter had spiky brown hair and wore glasses over his hazel eyes; he was dressed in an olive button down shirt, jeans, and old tennis shoes. Wally had unkempt dark hair, blue eyes, and wore a red plaid shirt over a red t-shirt, tan slacks, and tennis shoes. Andy had dark hair styled away from her face, and her brown eyes looked up at Linda with curious interest; her attire was completely black: t-shirt, jeans, and boots. Buzz appeared as tall as Dick and well built, with spiky dark blond hair and blue eyes; he wore a faded blue t-shirt, faded jeans, and old tennis shoes.

"Hey, Linda," Mattie said smiling. "You wanna join us?"

"Sure," Linda answered, relieved. Dick scooted over and grabbed a chair from another table, putting it next to him; Linda sat down and glanced at Buzz curiously. "Is Buzz your real name?"

"Nickname," Buzz answered.

"So, what's your real name?" Linda asked.

"No one knows," Mattie smirked. "It's the mystery we've come to accept from our resident baseball player."

"So, Linda, Dick told us you're new here," Andy said. "Where are you from?"

"Midvale, Illinois," Linda answered.

"So, why'd you move here?" Cutter asked, smiling. "This isn't exactly the hub of fashion and fun."

"My parents were killed in a car accident earlier this year," Linda replied, "and the only family I have left is here."

"Oh," Cutter said slowly, uncomfortably.

"Nice one, Cutter," Andy said, smacking his arm. "This isn't an interview for the Torch, you know."

"It's okay," Linda said to Cutter; she smiled reassuringly at him. "Look, you didn't know, and I'm fine—really." Cutter appeared to relax a little, but Linda decided to change the subject anyway. "So, Cutter, you work for the Torch?"

"Wally and I run it," Cutter replied, brightening up more. "You interested in a position? We could always use some extra help."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," Linda replied. "There's only room for one journalist in my family, and my cousin has already filled that position."

Wally had been drinking his milk, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he quickly swallowed. "Wait a second," he said as he put his carton down. "Kent? As in Clark Kent?"

Linda nodded. "That's him," she said. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Wally staring at her dreamily. "Um…are you okay?"

"Yeah," Andy replied, smirking, "he just has this kind of man crush thing going on with your cousin, that's all."

"I do not," Wally said, looking insulted. "I just think he's a good journalist, that's all."

"So is Lois Lane," Buzz spoke up, "and Chloe Sullivan; I don't see you drooling over them—and Chloe actually **ran** the Torch while she was here."

"Uh, guys, can we **not** try to scare away the new girl on her second day of school?" Dick spoke up, glancing over at Linda apologetically; he couldn't tell if she was frightened or amused by his friends, but he decided to change the subject. "So, Linda, what do you think of lunch?"

Linda glanced down at her tray and poked her pizza with her fork. "Please tell me that this isn't what passes for real food around here," she said, unsure.

"Believe it," Wally replied as he munched on his brownie. "One thing you gotta remember around here: they cram us with homework and fake food for five days, and we spend two days trying to get it out of our systems."

"Ah," Linda replied before she poked her pseudo food once more then shook her head and put her fork down. "On second thought, I'm not very hungry right now. I'll think skip lunch today and get an early start on my art project. Anybody want this?" She held out her tray, glancing around the group.

"That's not very healthy," Dick replied, looking a little concerned.

"I'll take it," Wally said quickly before grabbing the tray; he quickly started chowing down on the pizza.

"I'll be fine," Linda added, smiling as she stood up. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys; I had fun." She turned to leave, paused for a second, and turned back. "Oh, and just in case you're interested, Clark, Chloe, and Lois are really nice people; maybe I'll introduce you sometime." She gave them a small wave, and they watched as she hurried past the tables, hurrying out of the cafeteria.

"So, what do you guys think of her?" Dick asked.

"Not bad," Andy replied.

"Pretty cool," Buzz said.

Mattie glanced Dick and grinned. "What do **you** think of her, Dick?"

"She's nice," Dick replied, his cheeks turning pink.

"Someone likes the new girl," Wally teased in a sing-song voice.

"Bite me," Dick grumbled, his cheeks red as he left the table. The five watched him leave, then they looked at each other and laughed as they got up to leave.

(End of Chapter 7)


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the day went smoothly, and Linda even enjoyed the rest of the day. History had especially intrigued the young girl, and she made a mental note to learn all she could about her new home. After the last bell had rung, Linda hurried to her locker and retrieved her books before hurrying down the hall, expertly dodging the other students as she headed down the stairs. She quickly made her way down the hall to the doors leading to the bus line. As she headed out of the school, she glanced from side to side as she stopped; there were no buses in sight. Confused, she turned around—just in time to see the buses driving away on the main street.

"Are you kidding me?" Linda muttered, frustrated. She could only imagine her parents' reactions to her missing her bus, but she figured they'd be more worried if she didn't come home at all. She took a deep breath, gripping her backpack tighter, and crouched slightly, like a runner getting into position.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Linda stiffed as she recognized the voice. She glanced over as she saw Mattie and Andy approaching her, giving her strange expressions. Linda slowly stood up, smiling brightly. "Uh…nothing."

"It kind of looks like you're about ready to start a marathon," Andy replied.

"Well, I missed my bus," Linda explained, "and I thought—"

"What, you thought you'd run after it?" Mattie asked, smiling.

"Well," Linda said, "I told my parents I'd come straight home on the bus, and now they're going to freak out when the bus shows up and I'm not on it."

"Well, you're in luck," Andy replied. "Buzz is waiting for us in the student parking lot; he's taking us to the Talon, but he won't mind giving you a lift home."

"Are you sure?" Linda asked.

"Sure we're sure," Mattie replied. "Come on." She grabbed Linda's hand and pulled her away with Andy following close behind.

* * *

Jonathan stared out the kitchen window, getting more fidgety as each minute passed with no sign of a yellow bus. Martha sat at the kitchen table, reading the paper, drinking a cup of cider; she glanced up and sighed when she saw her husband.

"Jonathan, staring out the window is not going to make the time pass by any faster," she said.

"I'm just worried about her, Martha," Jonathan replied. "Maybe we should have picked her up."

"I know you're worried, but it was her choice; we have to start trusting her."

Jonathan heard a motor outside and looked out the window. He saw a large beat up, light blue van pulling up toward the house; it parked next to the red truck and the side door opened. He raised an eyebrow as he saw his daughter hop out with a bunch of strange kids; he watched as they headed up the walk and quickly pretended to be looking for something when the kitchen door opened and they all came in.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home," Linda said, looking around, smiling.

"Hi, sweetie," Martha smiled as she got up from her chair. She walked over and greeted her daughter with a hug. "How was school?"

"Uneventful," Linda replied.

"That's a good thing, right?" Jonathan asked, smiling as he walked over.

"Very good," Linda answered, grinning before she hugged her father. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi, sweetheart," Jonathan replied, returning the hug as he eyed the six newcomers. "So, did **anything** happen today that you want to tell us about?"

"Well, I learned that cafeteria food isn't really food," Linda replied, "so I was thinking about bringing my own lunches from now on, and I have some biology and algebra homework, and in art I have my first assignment, so I need to get supplies for that."

"So, who are you new friends?" Martha asked.

"Oh, uh, guys, these are my parents," Linda said to the group; she smiled at her parents. "Mom, Dad, you remember Dick Malverne," Dick smiled and waved briefly before nodding to the others, "and this is Wally Danvers, Cutter Sharp, Andy Martinez, Mattie Harcourt, and Buzz."

"Well, it's nice to meet all of you," Martha replied, smiling warmly at the group.

"So, is this really a working farm?" Buzz asked as he looked out the kitchen door. "Linda said she lived on a real farm."

"Yeah, we have real cows and everything," Jonathan answered jokingly, "and that's a real barn out there, with a real tractor and real farm tools." Martha elbowed him playfully.

Linda shook her head, smiling. "Mom, Dad, Dick and the others wanted to know if I could join them at the Talon for a few hours. I know I said I'd do my homework after school, but I'll get it done later." She gave her parents her best big blue-eyed innocent little girl expression. "Please?"

Martha smiled, thankful that Linda seemed to be making friends, but she knew her husband might not be quite as willing. She glanced over at Jonathan, raising an eyebrow slightly; the farmer looked a little hesitant, but he simply sighed.

"Sure, sweetie," he said, smiling. Linda beamed, and Jonathan reached into his jeans pocket; he pulled his wallet out and removed a ten-dollar bill, handing it to Linda. "Here, you can even get yourself something."

"Thanks, Dad," Linda replied, hugging him one more time before hugging Martha. "Thanks, Mom." She turned to her friends. "Come on, guys." The seven teens headed out of the house.

"Have a good time!" Martha called out after them.

"And don't forget to be home before dinner!" Jonathan added as they headed down the walk.

"I won't!" Linda shouted.

Martha chuckled and shook her head as she glanced up at her husband. "So, what do you think?"

"I think I'm still going to worry," Jonathan replied, "but I'm also going to trust her." Martha smiled as she kissed her husband's cheek before heading off to start preparing dinner.

* * *

Linda stared in awe at the interior of the Talon: the bright colors, the decorations, the wonderful smells, and the bustling activity. Incredible seemed too insignificant to describe what she felt, but it was the only thing that came even remotely close.

"Wow," she whispered, smiling at her friends. "This is a really cool place."

"Yeah, it's pretty impressive," Mattie said as she grabbed Linda's wrist as they walked to the bar. Standing behind the bar was a young woman about Clark's age. She had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail braid and wore a dark blue blouse, tight jeans, and flat shoes; she smiled at the group.

"Hey, Mattie," she said, "guys."

"Linda, this is Melody Rivers," Mattie said, "she's the Talon's manager. Melody, this is Linda Kent; she's new to school, and this is her first time to the Talon."

"Oh, a rookie customer, huh?" Melody said, smirking a little. "Guess I need to make the 'Newbie'."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "What is that?" she asked worriedly.

Dick leaned over. "Don't worry, Linda," he said. "They do this with everyone, but it's quick and painless, I promise."

Linda glanced over at the front doors, wondering if she should bolt, but she had to admit she was a little curious. She saw Melody turn her back and busy herself at the back counter. The teenager was tempted use her x-ray vision, but she fought the urge. After a minute or so, Melody turned around and set a **hug** mug on the counter in front of Linda.

"'The Newbie,'" Melody said proudly. "Our strongest coffee, mixed with Nutella, caramel sauce, milk, and sugar; topped with extra whipped cream and white and dark chocolate sprinkles."

Linda raised an eyebrow as she stared at the mug; the only coffee she was accustomed to was the stuff her parents drank at home—normal coffee out out of mugs that were a **third** of the size as the one in front of her—but she didn't want anyone to think she was too weird; she sighed and reached into her pocket to get her money.

"Don't worry about it," Dick said as he handed Melody a five-dollar bill. "Keep the change, Melody." He grabbed a mug and headed to a table with Linda while the others filled their orders.

"What about you?" Linda asked as she took a chair next to Dick.

Dick shrugged. "Not really thirsty right now."

"I should at least pay you," Linda replied.

"Don't," Dick said dismissively, waving his hand. "Consider it part of the induction process," he nodded at the mug on the table, "as is drinking it."

"Okay," Linda replied. She leaned over her mug and breathed in the wonderful aroma, smiling a little. "Wow, that smells great." She grabbed the mug and—making sure to remember to blow on it first—took a big sip. The chocolate and hazelnut taste was incredibly rich and creamy as it slid down her throat; she he closed her eyes and sighed as she put the mug down, smiling. "Oh, my gosh, that was incredible." She opened her eyes and saw a big dollop of whipped cream on her nose; she stared at it, crossing her eyes.

"Here, let me get that," Dick said as he grabbed a napkin from the holder; he gently wiped Linda's nose clean. "There." He smiled as he wadded up the napkin and tossed it into a nearby trashcan then looked back at Linda. "So, I take it you like it?"

"Very much so," Linda replied, smiling as she looked at Dick; the two just stared at each other.

"So," Dick said quickly, looking a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Linda, I know you're new here, but I was wondering—"

"Okay, so what did we miss?" Wally asked as he came over and plopped down next to Dick, holding a large mug. Andy walked up behind him, holding a mug, and smacked him hard on his head. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"Bad timing," Mattie said as she and the others joined them. They all had their own drinks and pulled up their own chairs around the table.

"I don't get it," Wally replied before he sipped his drink; he wiped the small whipped cream mustache away with the back of his hand. "So, Linda, what do you think of your drink?"

"Very delicious," Linda said as she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her hair, hoping her cheeks were red. "So, now what do we do?"

"Well, we hang for a bit," Andy replied, "then we go home."

"'Hang'?" Linda asked, looking at the ceiling briefly.

"What about you?" Cutter asked. "What was it like being home schooled?"

Linda shrugged. "Nothing really special," she replied. "I was tutored privately for as long as I can remember, but after my parents died and I moved here, Mom and Dad decided I was well enough to go to school."

"'Well enough'?" Dick asked curiously. "Were you sick?"

"For as long as I could remember," Linda replied. "Couldn't do some things—well, a **lot** of things, really; my parents didn't want me getting over stimulated." She shrugged before taking another sip of her drink.

"Man, you must have **really** been isolated if you find Smallville exciting," Buzz spoke up, then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait a second. Wouldn't a farm be the **last** place you'd want to live if you were sick?"

Linda smiled. "Turned out it was just what I needed," she replied. "Ever since I moved here, I'm not as sick as I used to be."

"So, you're in remission, huh?" Cutter asked. "Hey, Dick, why don't you tell Linda about—"

"The Beatles?" Dick interrupted, giving Cutter a brief glare.

"'Beatles'?" Linda asked. "As in insects?

"As in the music group," Dick answered quickly, ignoring the glances from his friends. "From the sixties…ever heard of them?"

"I think I might have," Linda said slowly, trying to rack her brain. "Clark helped me download a lot of songs over a month ago, and I think there might be a couple of songs in my playlist. They're British, right?"

"Yeah," Dick replied.

"So do you like Doctor Who, too?" Linda asked.

"You know what Doctor Who is?" Cutter asked, looking intrigued and confused at the same time.

Linda nodded. "A friend of mine told me about it a month ago when he visited for his birthday. I started watching the new series online and got caught up with it a few days ago. It's pretty interesting." She chuckled. "He'd get a kick out of Melody Rivers' name…."

"Who's your friend?" Dick asked, trying to look calm.

"Jimmy Olsen," Linda replied. "He works with my cousin."

"Your friends with Jimmy Olsen, too?" Wally asked, grinning. "That's really cool; we've seen some of his photos in the paper. He's really good." He saw the slight glare Dick shot him, and his smile faded as he cleared his throat. "I mean, if you're into that sort of thing."

Linda raised an eyebrow at their odd behavior, but she decided not to question it; she had friends, and she didn't want to do anything to scare them away—especially Dick, though she couldn't figure out why. She grabbed her drink and took another sip. "So, what about you guys?"

(End of Chapter 8)


	9. Chapter 9

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Martha asked as she sat with Jonathan at the dinner table. "Linda needs this stuff."

"I know, Martha," Jonathan said, "but I didn't know art supplies were so expensive: pottery wheel, easel, brushes, paints," he shook his head, sighing, "I don't know how we're going to afford it all."

"Jonathan, we can't tell her to stop taking art," Martha replied. "She'll be devastated."

"Martha, you know that's the last thing I want to do," Jonathan said, "but I don't see any way around this."

The kitchen door opened, and Linda walked in, smiling brightly. "Mom, Dad, I'm home."

"Hi, Linda," Martha smiled brightly as she stood up and walked over. "How was the Talon?"

"Great," Linda replied as she grabbed a Granny Smith apple from the fruit bowl on the island. "Everyone-is-really-nice-and-the-manager-was-really-cool—her name is Melody Rivers-which-is-like-a-combination-of-Melody-Pond-and-River-Song-so-I-need-to-let-Jimmy-know-and-she-gave-me-this-really-yummy-drink-called-'The-Newbie'-which-had-caramel-and Nutella-whatever-that-is-and-whipped-cream-and-it-was-**really**-**good**-and-I-just-spent-time-talking-with-Dick-and-the-others-and-I-had-a-really-good-time-and-I-think-I-actually-have-some-friends." She grinned as she took a bite from the apple, grinning as she chewed.

Jonathan raised his eyebrows, looking at his daughter in amazement. Even with her abilities, he still wondered how she managed to get all of that into one breath. The farmer briefly wondered if Linda had been affected by caffeine, but he knew that wasn't possible.

"We're glad you had a good time," he said. "Now, since it's almost time for dinner, why don't we go get the chores done?"

Linda nodded, and Jonathan put his arm around his daughter, and the two headed out of the house while Martha puttered around the kitchen to finish preparing the rest of their dinner. She heard the sound of clicking on the hardwood floor and looked over to see Krypto chasing Streaky in from the living room; he barked loudly and followed the kitten up the stairs, growling playfully. Smiling, Martha shook her head and went back to her work.

* * *

After dinner, the three Kents busied themselves with cleaning the kitchen while Krypto and Streaky sprawled out under the table. Martha and Linda were in the middle of washing the dishes, as Jonathan put the leftovers in the fridge, when there was a knock on the kitchen door. Jonathan went to answer it as Krypto scampered beside him. The farmer opened the door and saw Dick standing on the porch, his backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Uh, hi," Dick said slowly. "I hope I'm not interrupting." Krypto tried to be brave and let out a loud yip, but then he scurried behind Jonathan's feet; he peeked around the farmer and gave a little growl. Dick chuckled as he looked down at the little puppy. "Hi there, little fella." Jonathan cleared his throat, and Dick looked up. "Oh, uh, sorry, Mr. Kent."

"Dick Malverne, right?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, sir," Dick answered. "Um, is Linda here?"

"I'm here, Dick," Linda said as she walked over, drying her hands with a towel. "What's up?"

"Oh, uh, hi, Linda," Dick replied, smiling, shuffling a little as his cheeks turned pink. "Uh, I was wondering if you've done your homework yet."

"I was about ready to get started on it," Linda answered, "why?"

"Well, I just figured you'd like some help," Dick answered. Jonathan glanced at his wife as she came over, and he could tell she didn't believe the teenager any more than he did.

"What homework do you kids have to work on?" Martha asked, hiding a smile.

"Uh, well, I know Linda said she had some algebra homework," Dick answered, "and we both have a worksheet in biology on Health and Human Development."

"What kind of development?" Jonathan asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Uh, the usual review material from last year," Dick replied, looking a little embarrassed, "just to see what we remember before jumping into this year's stuff." He noticed Jonathan's stern look and swallowed nervously. "Uh, it shouldn't take us long at all."

Jonathan opened his mouth to say no, but Martha raised an eyebrow. The farmer wanted to protest, but he nodded slightly. "Sure, sweetie," he said, smiling at his daughter. "You and Dick can study—in the living room."

"I left my books in the loft," Linda said. "Can we study there?"

"You can get your books and study in the living room," Jonathan answered calmly, but Linda recognized the tone and knew there was no point in arguing.

"Okay," she replied. She turned to Dick, looking a little apologetic. "Why don't you wait in the living room; I'll be back in a few minutes." She headed out the kitchen door while Dick headed into the living room as the adults went back to cleaning. Krypto looked back and forth between the door and Dick; he decided the newcomer was more interesting and scampered into the living room.

"I'm proud of you," Martha replied, keeping her voice low as she wiped the counter.

"I don't like him," Jonathan replied, his voice just as low.

"Jonathan, give him a chance. He seems like a nice boy."

"He's flirting with our daughter."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Martha replied, "which is why they're going to be in the living room, and we're going to stay out of the way." Jonathan looked unconvinced. "Jonathan, we have to trust her."

"Her I trust," Jonathan said, "him I don't."

Martha shook her head, smiling. "Until he gives us any reason not to trust him, let them be, okay?"

"Do I have to like it?" Jonathan asked.

"No, you don't have to like it," Martha said, "but you can help me finish the dishes." She smiled as she walked back to the sink; Jonathan followed.

* * *

"…and then, uh, that takes us to where we are now," Dick said slowly, shifting uncomfortable, "puberty." He glanced at Krypto, who had passed out in front the fireplace; he looked at Linda, who didn't look the least bit embarrassed. "You're not embarrassed by this?"

"Should I be?" Linda asked. "This is what we're learning about in class, so obviously it's important," she shrugged, "and, honestly, I think human development is quite fascinating—don't you?"

Dick glanced at then sighed and rubbed his face. "Sure," he replied, "but do you get it?"

Linda nodded. "Yeah, it's not rocket science. Anyone with any knowledge of chemistry would understand how proteins and amino acids can affect an organism over their lifespan."

Dick stared at her in disbelief. Linda she was definitely quirky, but the teenager didn't see that as a hurdle—in fact, it actually made her all the more attractive. He smiled a little as he started putting away his biology work. "Okay, let's get to work on," he suddenly yawned, "hoh, that Algebra."

"How about we call it a night?" Linda suggested. "You look tired."

"What about algebra?" Dick asked.

"I'll be fine," Linda replied before she leaned over and kissed Dick's cheek. "Thanks for the help."

Dick's eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead as he grinned. "Uh…my pleasure," he said slowly. Still grinning, he grabbed his backpack, stood up, and headed toward the kitchen. He stopped short, his grin slowly fading, when he saw Jonathan leaning against the counter, arms folded as he stared right at the teenager. Dick swallowed nervously then glanced over at the island where Martha stood, drinking from her mug; Dick couldn't tell for sure, but she looked as if she might be hiding a grin.

"Well, I guess I'll get going," Dick said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dick," Martha replied, smiling at the young man.

Dick smiled and nodded before heading out the kitchen door. After the door had closed, Jonathan and Martha headed into the living room; Linda still sat on the couch, pulling out some notebook paper.

"So, you got all your work done?" Martha asked.

Linda flipped open her algebra book to the end of the first chapter and shifted into super-speed as she worked the assigned problems; it only took three seconds to finish and have everything packed in her backpack.

"Done," she replied, smiling, "but, to be honest, it was kind of easy compared to sixth dimensional geometry." She saw Jonathan's slightly sour expression, and her smile faded. "What is it? You don't want me to talk about sixth dimensional geometry?"

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, no, sweetie," he said. "You can talk about sixth dimensional geometry all you want—in the proper company, of course." He paused, then looked more confused. "Uh…what **is** six dimensional geometry?"

"Application of third dimensional geometry in a sixth dimensional environment," Linda replied, "which I never understood, since anything with more than four dimensions is in a different space-time continuum with a **completely** different set of laws of operational physics. Take the fifth dimension, for example: the beings from the planet Zrff are **definitely** out there."

Jonathan pursed his lips a little, deciding the best way to react. "We'll keep that in mind," he said slowly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ts there anything **else** you want to talk about?"

"Like what?" Linda asked.

"I think what your father is trying to say," Martha replied, "is that we both noticed a certain someone who seemed very grateful for getting help on her homework this evening."

Linda noticed her mother had a faint smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. The teenager was a little confused at first, then she realized to what they were referring. "Oh, the kiss," she said. "Yeah, well, Dick was a big help, and I wanted to thank him."

"Okay, then," Martha replied. Jonathan looked like he wanted to say more, but Martha gave him a look, so he kept his mouth closed; she smiled at Linda. "Why don't you go get ready for bed?"

Linda nodded and started heading out the living room. She was halfway to the stairs when the kitchen door opened and Clark walked in. Linda grinned and walked over to her cousin.

"Clark," she said, grinning. Her smile disappeared when she saw the dejected look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"What happened?" Martha asked as she and Jonathan came into the kitchen.

"There was a fire in a high rise apartment in New Troy," Clark said glumly. "I was able to help put it out, but thirty people don't have a place to sleep tonight."

"Was anyone hurt?" Jonathan asked.

"No, I everyone got out just fine," Clark answered, "but it happened during a date with Lois; there was a movie we wanted to see."

"And you had to leave during it to go stop the fire," Martha said, understanding.

"Yeah," Clark said, "and it wouldn't have been that bad, but it took me over two hours to save everyone and help put out the fire to keep the building from collapsing. By the time I got back, Lois was gone; I tried to call her, but it kept going to voice mail. I even stopped by as Superman, but she didn't even want to see him. I don't know what to do here." He walked, dejectedly, over to the island and sat on one of the stools. Jonathan and Martha looked at each other and walked over.

"Why don't you just tell her the truth?" Linda asked as she joined them.

"Linda, it's not that easy," Clark answered.

"Why not?" Linda asked. "You like her, and she really likes you. Don't you think she can be trusted?"

"Linda, it's not that," Clark replied.

"Then what is it?"

"It's complicated, Linda," Jonathan said, "too complicated to explain tonight. Now, it's getting late, and you need to get ready bed."

"Which is code for 'adult talk,'" Linda replied, looking a little annoyed, but she sighed and gave hugs to everyone; she hugged Clark extra hard and kissed his cheek. "It'll be okay, Clark. Goodnight, everyone." She headed up the stairs, leaving the adults alone.

"So, what are you going to tell Lois tomorrow?" Martha asked her son.

"I don't know," Clark replied. "I'll come up with something." He glanced up at the stairs then looked back at his parents. "So, how did Linda's first full day go?"

"Well, she didn't start any fires," Jonathan replied, "but it wasn't uneventful."

"Oh?" Clark raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Well, Linda's already made some friends," Martha replied. She decided to leave out the part of Dick's interest in the young girl, because she knew how protective Clark would get about it; it almost rivaled Jonathan's—almost. "She also has her first assignment in art, so we need to get her supplies."

Clark could see his mother's expression and knew she wasn't telling him everything. "So, what's the problem?" he asked.

"Art supplies are not cheap," Jonathan replied. "According to her list, Linda needs brushes, paints, charcoals, watercolors, pastels, an easel, a pottery wheel, drawing paper, notebooks, and containers to keep everything.

"For a beginner's art class?" Clark asked, incredulously.

Jonathan nodded. "The pottery wheel alone is over four hundred dollars," he said.

Clark whistled softly. "Do you need any help getting them?" he asked.

"No, Clark," Jonathan said. "As much as we appreciate the gesture, this is something that we've been talking about."

"And?" Clark asked.

"And, we've figured out we can get Linda's supplies if we make a few sacrifices in other areas," Martha replied. "It's either that or Linda will have to give up her class, and that's not something we want."

"Does she know?" Clark asked.

"No," Jonathan answered, "and we don't want her to. She'll blame herself," he corners twitched a little, "just like her big cousin used to do."

Clark nodded, understanding. "Well, I better get back," he said after a few moments, getting to his feet. "I left the suit soaking in the sink." He headed to the kitchen door with his parents, and they all headed outside onto the porch. No one saw Linda at the top of the stairs, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Wordlessly, she hurried to her room, closing the door behind her.

(End of Chapter 9)


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Martha stood over the stove, scrambling eggs, when Linda came down the stairs, dressed for the day, her backpack slung over her shoulders. Martha smiled as she looked over at her daughter.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said. "Your father missed his helper this morning." Her smile faded when she saw Linda wasn't her usually cheerful self. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Linda replied quietly as she adjusted her glasses. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

Martha touched Linda's cheek with one hand. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "Maybe some breakfast will help get you going."

"I'm not really hungry," Linda said, "and you don't have to go through the trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Martha replied, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. She tilted her head. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about, Linda?"

Linda nodded as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the island. "I need to get to school. I'll be home later." She headed for the door just as Jonathan headed in; he smiled at his daughter.

"There you are," he said. "I thought you were going to sleep all day."

Linda smiled briefly. "Sorry, I'm going to be late for school. Bye." She headed out the door, leaving her parents looking bewildered.

"What was that about?" Jonathan asked his wife.

"I'm not sure," Martha replied. "She said she didn't get much sleep last night."

"Well, sweetheart, Linda really only needs two hours of sleep," Jonathan joked, but Martha didn't even crack a smile; Jonathan sighed. "Martha, I'm sure she's fine, but if she isn't, she'll talk when she's ready." Martha didn't look convinced, but she nodded before going to make her husband's coffee, missing the slightly worried expression on his face.

* * *

Linda made her way down the corridor, stopping at her locker to exchange her books before she headed down to the art room. It was early, but Linda knew her teacher would be there setting up for the day. The young girl stopped at the open door and saw Miss Patterson sitting at her desk, working on some papers. Linda just stood there and stared at the young woman.

Lizzy Patterson was in her early thirties, with short brown hair and green eyes framed by a pair of thin-framed glasses. She had a penchant for wearing outlandish clothing, and today was no different: she wore a purple pants outfit with honeybees all over it and black shoes. Her brown hair was pulled back with a yellow headband that matched the yellow in the bees; she even had bee earrings in her ears.

"Miss Patterson?"

Her teacher looked up and saw Linda standing just outside the door, looking a little scared; she smiled warmly at the young girl. "Good morning, Linda," she said. "What can I do for you?" Linda slowly walked over, and then she looked up. Miss Patterson immediately saw something was bothering the young girl. "Linda, what's wrong?"

Linda sighed. "We need to talk, Miss Patterson."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Linda walked out, tears started streaming down her cheeks. Students were starting to congregate in the halls, so she quickly wiped her cheeks and hurried down the hall to the nearest restroom. She walked in and stopped short when she saw Mattie and Andy standing at the mirrors, checking their reflections. She tried to leave before being noticed, but they quickly spotted her.

"Hey, Linda," Andy said, smiling. Both girls saw Linda's eyes, red and bright from crying, and they abandoned their mirrors.

"What's wrong?" Mattie asked.

"Nothing," Linda replied, trying to smile.

"Uh huh," Mattie said. "Come on, Linda. Spill it. What's eating you?"

Linda sighed, feeling fresh tears welling up. "I quite art," she said, her voice wavering.

"What?" Andy asked, shocked. "Why? You seemed to like it."

"Is it too hard?" Mattie prodded.

Linda shook her head and sniffled, and Mattie handed her a tissue. Linda blew her nose, then she tossed the used tissue in a nearby trashcan. "I overheard my parents talking last night about my supplies and how they can't afford them without making sacrifices." She looked up tearfully. "I don't want them doing that for me."

"Linda, they're your folks," Andy said. "That's what parents do."

"No!" Linda replied, a hint of frustration mixed in with her sadness. "They've already done so much for me since I got here; I don't want them to do anything else."

Mattie put her hand on Linda's shoulder and said, "Linda, I—"

"You don't understand," Linda interrupted tearfully, jerking away from Mattie's hand. She looked up as the first bell sounded then she hurried out of the bathroom, leaving Mattie and Andy in confused bewilderment.

The young girl hurried down the empty hall, heading towards biology. She turned the corner and nearly ran into a group of five boys. She recognized Dick and Buzz, but the three others—dressed in red and yellow letterman jackets—were unfamiliar to her.

"Dick?" Linda asked. "Buzz? What's going on?"

"Linda, you okay?" Dick asked, noticing she had been crying.

The young girl straightened up, wiping her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in class," she eyed the unknowns, "and who are these guys?"

"Linda, don't worry about it," Buzz said. "Go to class; we'll catch up with you later."

Linda watched them brush past her and head off down the hall, and she furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know a lot about humans, but she knew enough to know when something wasn't right; she hurried off after the group and stood in front of them, stopping them.

"Oh, come on, Buzz," she said, "why won't you tell me what's going on?" Buzz shook his head, then she glanced at Dick. "Dick?"

"Linda, go to class," Dick replied. "This doesn't concern you."

"Maybe not," Linda retorted, "but I have a feeling the principal won't feel the same way."

"You'd snitch on us?" one of the unknowns asked, frowning.

"If you let me in on what's going on," Linda replied, "I won't. Now talk."

Dick glanced at the others then sighed. "Fine," he said. "If we tell you, promise you won't say a word to anyone?"

"Promise," Linda replied.

"We're going down to Kawatche Caves," Buzz said. He jerked his thumb at one of the unknown teens; he was a shorter than Dick, with light brown hair and blue eyes. "Darrien's arranged a little back to school party."

Linda eyed Darrien, raising an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked cautiously.

Darrien smiled and held a hand out. "Darrien Bounder," he said. "I don't believe I caught your last name, Linda."

"Kent," Linda replied as she shook the offered hand. "Linda Kent." She eyed the others questioningly.

"Devon Miles and Michael Knight," Darrien replied, pointing to his friends. Devon had sandy brown hair and hazel eyes, and Michael had black hair and blue eyes. He rubbed his hands together. "Now, since we're all acquainted with each other, why don't we get going before we get caught?" He brushed past the others and put his arm around Linda's shoulders. "You ever been to Kawatche caves, Linda?"

"No," Linda replied, trying not to sound too upset. Clark had told her all he could about the caves—the Kawatche, the story of Naman—and he'd promised to give her a tour later in the year once things settled down, so it wasn't hard to feel possessive—like no one but Clark and her had the right to be down there. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Perfectly safe," Darrien smiled as he led Linda down the hall, with Devon and Michael close behind; Buzz and Dick stared at them, their eyebrows raised.

"Dude, is it me or is **he** making a move on the girl who kissed **you** last night?" Buzz asked.

Dick scowled as he watched Darrien talk to Linda. "Come on," he growled softly as he grabbed Buzz's arm and headed off after the others.

* * *

Clark slowly looked around after getting off the elevator and spotted Lois at her desk, typing angrily on her keyboard. The reporter took a deep breath as he made his way through the bullpen and over to his desk.

"Hi," he said softly. Lois didn't even look up or acknowledge that she had heard him. Clark glanced down and saw a dozen purple hyacinths in her wastebasket. "I see you got the flowers I ordered." Getting no response, Clark sat in the chair next to Lois' desk. "Lois, I know you have every right to be mad at me for what happened last night."

"I'm not mad," Lois said calmly, not looking up from her monitor screen.

"You're not?" Clark asked, confused.

"No," Lois answered, "I'm furious." She looked over at Clark with a slightly wounded expression. "If you didn't want to date me, at least tell me to my face instead of making up some stupid excuse about going to the bathroom and then ditching me."

"Lois, I did want to date you," Clark replied, "I mean, I **do** want to date you, it's just—"

"Just what?" Lois interrupted. "Come on, Clark. If you didn't ditch me, then tell me where the hell you disappeared to for over two hours?"

Clark met Lois's eyes, and he was very tempted to just tell her the truth—all of it. He knew it would be so easy, but deep down he also knew it would open up a whole new can of worms; in her current emotional state Lois would go ballistic. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Lois," he said, "I…I don't know what to tell you."

"Just as I thought," Lois replied coldly before turning back to her monitor.

Clark looked defeated as he silently got to his feet and left Lois, heading to his desk. Lois blinked back tears, taking a couple deep breaths through her nose to keep from losing her composure, pushing all thoughts of Clark from her mind as she refocused her energies back on her story.

* * *

Linda uneasily followed Dick and the others down a beaten path to the entrance of the Kawatche cave. She knew they—especially the others—didn't belong there, but she didn't know what to say without arousing suspicion. As they approached the entrance, she saw four more students—two guys, two girls—standing near a group of

"Ladies and gents," Darrien shouted loudly, grinning, "I have arrived." Everyone whooped and hollered. "The party can now officially start!"

Linda stood off to one side as the others mingle, watching them. One of the guys reach into a cooler nearby and pull out a six pack of beer. He tossed a can to the newcomers, including Linda; she held it in her hands, examining it. She had seen Jonathan drink one occasionally, and he explained to her what it was—along with a discussion on underage drinking.

"Problem with the beer?" Darrien asked as he came over.

"I, uh, I can't have this," Linda answered.

"Your parents tell you that?" Darrien asked, amused.

"My father did."

"Yeah, well, one beer won't kill you," Darrien replied. He took Linda's can and opened it before handing it back to her. "Go on, try some." Linda looked at the open can, hesitated, then she slowly brought it to her lips.

"Linda, wait," Dick said as he and Buzz walked over. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to." He gently snatched the can away from her. "Trust me, it doesn't taste very good anyway." He gave Darrien a dirty look as he shoved the can into his hands.

Buzz saw his friend's expression and put his hand on Linda's shoulder. "Come on, Linda," he said. "I want to introduce you to some friends." He steered Linda away from the two teenagers.

"What's your glitch, man?" Darrien frowned at Dick, getting in his face.

"Leave her alone, Darrien," Dick said. He didn't waiver, even though he was taller than the senior and Darrien could easily pummel him.

"I'm just being friendly," Darrien replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, like you were friendly to Anita?" Dick replied. "Or Mary? Or Rebecca?" Darrien snorted. "Linda's not going to be another notch on your post, man."

"We'll see," Darrien said before walking back to the group, more specifically Linda, leaving Dick glaring at him. "Okay, people, let's have some real fun and go spelunking!" Everyone whooped, and Dick hurried over to Linda.

"Spelunking?" Linda asked Dick.

"Cave exploration," Dick replied, as he saw Darrien approaching. "Hey, wanna be my buddy?"

"Sure," Linda replied.

"Linda, want to buddy up?" Darrien asked as he approached the young girl.

"I already said I'd go with Dick," Linda said. Dick smirked at Darrien, who narrowed his eyes briefly, but he smiled.

"That's fine," Darrien replied before turning to the group. "Let's get this show on the road!" Everyone but Linda, Dick and Buzz whooped and hollered before pulling small flashlights from their pockets; the group headed into the cave, with Dick, Linda, and Buzz taking up the back end. They carefully made their way through the narrow entrance that eventually opened up into the main portion of the cave.

Linda sucked in her breath as she looked around the darkened cave as everyone else started exploring. She saw a drawing of El family crest to her immediate left, near the entrance. She walked over and gently put her hand on it; even with her dark family history, she still found herself mesmerized by it. Looking around, she spotted the Kryptonian symbol for 'water' opposite her family crest; she furrowed her eyebrows as she walked over to it.

"It's pretty neat, huh?" Dick said as he joined her.

"Yeah," Linda replied, a little distracted.

"Want to see something else?" Dick took her hand and walked over to some more drawings, but Linda knew right away they weren't Kryptonian. "The Kawatche people have this legend about a guy named Naman that visited over five hundred years ago. According to that legend, he fell to Earth in a rain of fire, had the strength of ten men, and could shoot fire from his eyes." Linda raised an eyebrow, and Dick chuckled. "I know, it sounds ridiculous, but—"

"No, how do you know this?" Linda asked, curious.

"I'm a bit of a history buff," Dick replied, "and it's in our history book in the section of 'Indigenous Peoples.'" He glanced at the symbols. "You know, I get the whole legend thing, but Naman's powers kind of sound a little like Superman's, don't they?"

"I don't think Superman's been here for over five hundred years, Dick," Linda replied, smiling a little.

"I know," Dick replied, "but I read an interview about him shortly after he made his first appearance, and he said Krypton was destroyed in 1986." He shrugged. "Maybe Superman wasn't the first Kryptonian to visit Earth, and back then people would have seen someone with powers as a god—which the Kawatche viewed Naman as." He led her further into the cave, pointing out different symbols. "That was a nasty parasite that infected a few people in Smallville when your cousin was our age. I think Sheriff Ross and Chloe Sullivan were infected." He glanced over and saw Linda staring at the symbol in disbelief. "What's wrong?"

"Tripedal Curosiananiun," Linda whispered.

"What?" Dick asked.

"Uh…yeah, Clark told me about them," Linda replied. "He said they were all destroyed, right?"

"Yeah, the nest was destroyed," Dick reassured, "don't worry." He gave her an odd expression before leading her away. "Here, this is pretty cool." They stopped in front of a section of wall with an octagonal slot, surrounded by rings of Kryptonian symbols.

"What is this?" Linda asked softly as she delicately touched the slot.

"No one knows," Dick answered, "but it almost looks like something could fit there."

_Like a key_, Linda thought to herself. She glanced at the symbols as she backed up, trying to take it all in.

"Hey, guys, check this out," Darrien said from the dead end of the cave. Everyone walked over as he shown his light against the wall, and everyone could see a symbol on the far end; Linda recognized it instantly as the symbol for 'crusade.' "Wonder what those Kawatche were smoking when they drew these." He reached up and touched the symbol.

Linda tilted her head as she felt a slight tremor coming from the wall. She turned and put her hand against it as the vibrations grew stronger.

"Hey, guys, you feel that?" Buzz asked loudly. Everyone looked up as a few pebbles and dirt fell onto them.

"What is that?" one of the girls asked as the ground below them started shaking.

"Cave in!" Dick shouted before he grabbed Linda's hand. "Let's go!"

Linda's heart pounded in her chest as everyone bolted back the way they came; larger rocks started pelting them. She looked up at the ceiling near the entrance as large boulders crumbled apart. "Look out!" she shouted. The students looked up just as the ceiling caved down on all of them.

(End of Chapter 10)


	11. Chapter 11

Thick, dusty particles hovered in the air as the teenagers lay sprawled on the floor of the cave, their flashlights scattered. Linda slowly opened her eyes and looked down at Dick as he lay on his back under her; he rubbed his head as he groaned softly, then he noticed Linda over him.

"I thought I pulled you under me," Dick replied, confused.

"You did," Linda said, "but we twisted as we fell."

"This is…really not how this was supposed to happen," Dick continued, looking a little embarrassed.

"Welcome to the renaissance," Linda replied softly before carefully getting to her feet. She helped Dick to his, and they looked around as the other teenagers stirred—some of them coughing and moaning—and got to their feet. "Is everyone okay?" She did a quick scan with her x-ray vision and sighed with relief; no one had any broken bones.

"Yeah, just peachy," Darrien muttered as he grabbed his flashlight from the ground; the others grabbed theirs, using them to see around.

"What the hell did you do, Darrien?" Buzz asked angrily.

"Nothing," Darrien shot back. "I just touched the freakin' symbol. What, you think that caused the cave in?" He pointed his flashlight at the entrance and saw it was completely blocked from top to bottom with tightly-packed rocks and boulders. He walked over and tried to move the rocks; he grunted as he pulled and pushed a large boulder, but it refused to budge. "Come on, guys, help me out here!" Some of the teens rushed over and tried moving the rocks, clawing and shouting.

"Hey, stop it!" Dick said as he hurried over to the students.

"Why not?" a girl asked tearfully, wringing her hands.

"Because freaking out isn't going to help anyone," Dick said. "We need to think this through calmly, and we can't do that with everyone screaming and shouting."

"So, what do we do?" Darrien asked. "Just sit here and hope someone will find us?"

"I have a cellphone," the young girl replied, pulling her phone from her pocket, "and it still works."

"Call 911," Dick instructed, "tell them what happened and where we are." The girl nodded and started dialing the numbers, her fingers shaking. Everything was silent for a little, then everyone stopped and looked around as weird, low sound started building behind the cave walls.

"What's going on?" Buzz asked. "Another cave in?"

Linda noticed that the walls weren't shaking, despite the rumbling growing louder. She glanced over at one of the walls and squinted slightly, switching to x-ray vision. The surface of the walls dissolved, allowing Linda to see behind. She saw what appeared to be a network of medium-sized tunnels behind them—embedded not in rock but in metal; the teenager's eyes widened and mouth opened slightly in shock as she saw something rushisng through the tunnels.

"_Frek_," she said softly just as four panels opened in the walls—and torrents of water shot into the cave. People shrieked, shouted, and scrambled away from the torrents as water sprayed everywhere.

"What the hell is going on?!" Michael shouted.

"We gotta get out of here!" Devon said as he ran over to the entrance and tried tugging on one of the rocks. A few of the students helped him, and they struggled and pulled. Linda hurried over to 'help,' but it didn't move; she paused, momentarily confused, then gripped the rock harder, pulling, but the boulder remained in place.

"It won't move," Linda said softly in disbelief.

"Call 911 now!" Dick demanded to the girl. She nodded and dialed the number with shaky fingers. Dick glanced over at Linda, seeing the fearful expression on her face, and he hurried over to her.

"It won't move," Linda repeated with panic in her voice. "I can't move it."

"It's okay," Dick reassured her, but she didn't look convinced. "Hey, hey," he took her face in his hands, "look at me." Her eyes locked with his. "Look, it's going to be alright."

"I can't move the rock, Dick," Linda said softly.

"Neither can anyone else," Dick replied, looking a little confused, "but we'll get through this. Right now, you need to calm down. It won't do you—or anyone else—any good to have a panic attack right now, okay?" Linda looked like she was going to say something else, but she simply nodded. Dick nodded and gently wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head, and Linda hugged him as tightly as she dared.

"It'll be okay," Dick reassured her before looking down at the ground; the water level had already risen to mid calf, and Dick swallowed nervously. "I promise."

* * *

Pete sat in his office, filling out paperwork from some of his assignments, when one of his deputies, Marshall Taggart, rushed in. The sheriff looked up, slightly annoyed the deputy hadn't knocked, but then he saw the frantic look on the deputy's face.

"You need to hear this, sir," Taggart said as he put a mini tape recorder on Pete's desk and pressed the play button. Pete heard a lot of static and garble, and then—

"You" static "us…we're" static "cave-in" static "Kawatche" static, then the tape cut off. Taggart hit the stop button then looked at his superior.

"Call came a few minutes ago," Taggart said. "That's all dispatch got before it cut out."

"You think it's legit?" Pete asked. "Caller seemed awful young."

"Yes, I do, sir," Taggart replied. "Voice might have been young, but I don't think anyone can fake fear like that," he raised an eyebrow, "and, given what we heard, I'm pretty sure that call came from the Kawatche caves?"

Pete looked up at Taggart, a smile playing on his lips. Taggart had always tried to please everyone—sticking with protocol—so it was refreshing to see the deputy actually taking a stand for something he believed in. Pete nodded as he got to his feet and grabbed his hat.

"We'll go check it out then," Pete said.

"Shouldn't we call Search and Rescue?" Taggart asked as they walked out of the office.

"Not until we know what's going on," Pete said as he and Taggart headed out of the building, "especially if it concerns the Kawatche caves."

(End of Chapter 11)


	12. Chapter 12

Water continued pouring into the cave, quickly rising to a depth of about twenty feet, forcing the teenagers to tread. Those with flashlights held them above water, but the small beams of light only a sliver of a fraction better than total darkness.

"So, anyone have **any** ideas about how the hell we're going to get out of this?" Devon asked, talking over the rushing water.

"How about we find a way to get the damn water turned off before we drown?" Darrien asked sarcastically. The water suddenly stopped flowing, as if a switch had been thrown. The teenagers trained their flashlights on the walls where the water had been flowing; the panels had closed so seamlessly that some began to wonder if they had actually been there. Everyone slowly turned their heads and looked at Darrien, who appeared totally confused. "What?"

"You sure you don't have anything to do with this?" Buzz asked warily.

"Yeah, because I'm sure some five hundred year old caves has a voice activated security system," Darrien replied sarcastically.

Dick glanced over at Linda; he could see the concerned expression on her face as she stared off to one side. "Hey, you okay?" he asked softly. No response. "Linda?" She finally looked at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Linda replied, trying not to sound panicky. "I mean, we're just treading water in a cave in the middle of land-locked state, and I can't get us out. I'm just fine, really."

"Is she okay?" Buzz asked as he swam over, glancing at Linda worriedly.

"I think she's having another panic attack," Dick answered softly. He racked his brain, trying to come up with some way to calm her down. It took him a few seconds, but he finally thought of something. "Hey, Linda, why don't you tell us about your project?"

"What?" Linda asked, a little confused.

"Tell us about your art project," Dick repeated. "What are you planning on doing?"

Linda looked like Dick had three heads. "Are you crazy? We're trapped in a cave, treading water, and you want me to tell you about my art project?"

"Hey, I could tell you my real name," Buzz added, trying to smile a little.

"What the hell was that?" one of the girls suddenly asked as she looked at the surface of the water.

"What is it?" Devon asked as the trio swam over.

"I felt something against my leg," the girl said.

"Stop fooling around," another girl replied annoyed. "It's bad enough that we're—"

"Hey, I felt it, too!" Michael exclaimed. "There's something down there!"

"I'm sure it's just leaves or sticks or something," someone said.

"You know, if this was a horror movie," Darrien said, smirking, "we'd see a mysterious splash or hear an ominous growl right about now." Everyone froze as an unfamiliar growl suddenly resonated loudly through the cave walls. After a few moments, those with flashlights quickly shone them around, but they couldn't see anything.

"Maybe it was the water," the first girl said slowly.

"Well, it sure as hell isn't a shark," Darrien muttered.

"Darrien, I swear, if I hear another word out of you," Buzz threatened, "I will sacrifice you to whatever gods the Kawatche worshipped."

"Don't blame this on me," Darrien said angrily. "It's not my fault that—" Dick suddenly shouted in pain a split second before he was suddenly pulled under the surface of the water.

"Dick!" Linda shouted. She pushed the fear from her mind as she glanced quickly glanced over at the others, a plan quickly formulating in her mind—even though she knew it was not the best plan. She focused on the flashlights and sent out little bursts of telekinetic energy to each flashlight, temporarily shorting them out, plunging the caves into total darkness. She ignored the shouts and screams of the others as she took a deep breath and dove under the surface of the water, switching to her x-ray vision.

It was a little grainy, but Linda quickly spotted a skeleton descending quickly in the water. She moved at super speed, reaching it in less than a second, but she stopped when she saw the skeleton struggling violently with another skeleton; Linda couldn't see anything clearly, so she quickly switched to her infrared vision to get a better picture of what was going on—and the young girl's heart jumped into her throat when she saw exactly what Dick struggled with.

The creature was about ten feet long, with a humanoid body covered in tight scales. Its head looked almost like a scaly dog head, minus the fur and ears; a pair of stiff frills flanked each side, and its eyes glowed yellow. It snarled loudly—revealing a mouth full of razor sharp, two-inch long teeth; one powerful arm—complete with three long, talon-like claws—swiped at Dick who did his best to dodge them; the creature's other hand tightly gripped Dick's leg, the claws sunk deep into his skin, but Dick used his free leg to try and kick the creature's head.

Linda knew Dick wouldn't be able to stay underwater much longer without serious complications, so she propelled herself through the water like a torpedo, her arms outstretched in front of her; she slammed into the creature at full force, causing the creature to bellow loudly as it let go of Dick. The young girl quickly swam to her friend and wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting him as she kicked her feet, slowly propelling them to the surface.

Halfway there, Linda felt strong claws wrap around her right ankle and pull her down forcefully; Linda heard Dick's muffled shout as she was dragged to the bottom of the cave. She felt the creature release her right before swiping at her with its other arm; Linda felt the claws rip through the right side of her shirt. Uninjured and unfazed, she quickly removed her glasses and stared intently at the creature; she saw the brief flash of deep orange before two intense heat beams shot out from her eyes. They hit the creature in the belly with full force; the creature bellowed loudly as its stomach ignited, but Linda continued pouring on the heat. The fire quickly engulfed the rest of the creature, and within seconds, all that was left were ashes floating through the water as she put her glasses back on.

Linda inwardly sighed with relief and turned to swim to the surface, but she stopped short when she saw Dick—floating about five feet above her—staring down at her with a shocked expression on his face. Linda could feel her stomach tighten, but she knew they couldn't stay under water for long. Trying to remain calm, she carefully floated up to Dick and gently grabbed his arm before tugging him to the surface.

Halfway up, Linda realized they—including the others still treading water above them—were in total darkness, and everyone else was going to get tired eventually; Linda knew she had to find some way to get rid of the water. Racking her brain, she quickly thought of something; she wasn't sure it was going to work, but she knew she had to try something. She frantically looked around until she located what she'd been looking for: the water symbol; she let go of Dick's arm and swam over to it.

The young girl struggled a little to maintain her buoyancy as she tried to keep even with the symbol, but then she used her telekinesis to 'push' the water away from her and the symbol, allowing her to quickly and expertly trace it backwards from how she knew it was supposed to have been written. Once she had finished, the symbol glowed briefly before she heard a couple of loud clicks and then the sound of water rushing—not into the cave but out.

The water level quickly lowered, and Linda could hear everyone around her talking in confusion; once the water was gone, Linda focused on the flashlights and gave them each a quick telekinetic burst. Each flashlight quickly lit up again, and Linda could see the relieved expressions on the group, even as they were all dripping water from head to toe. Dick sat on the floor as some of the others knelt around him. Linda hurried over and saw the puncture wounds where the creature had clawed him; blood oozed from the wound, but Linda knew it wasn't life-threatening.

"See, I knew there was something down there," Michael said.

"What was it?" Buzz asked.

"Not sure," Dick answered, wincing a little in pain before he saw Linda's ripped shirt—with no blood or any injuries; he slowly glanced up at her, his eyes slightly widening.

"Linda, it got you too?" Buzz asked Linda, noticing her ripped shirt.

"Must've just grazed me," Linda replied casually as she kept her eyes on Dick; she swallowed nervously as only one thought entered her mind: _I am so dead._

(End of Chapter 12)


	13. Chapter 13

Pete and Taggart hurried down the path to the cave and quickly spotted beer cans littering the area near the cave entrance. They hurried over and examined the scene.

"Looks like someone was here," Taggart said before eyeing the tunnel leading to the main cave. "What do you think, sir?"

Pete quickly assessed the situation and took out his flashlight. "We take it carefully," he replied. Taggart nodded and took out his flashlight. Both officers flicked them on and carefully walked into the tunnel.

* * *

While the rest of the group went back to exploring the cave to try to find another way out—they figured if they could locate how the water left, they might be able to use it to escape—Linda offered to stay and tend to Dick's wound.

"So, you want to tell me what that was all about?" Dick asked after Linda ripped the torn part of her shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage, tying it around Dick's leg.

"What do you mean?" Linda asked casually.

"Linda, I saw what you did under the water," he said, keeping his voice down; he glanced over at the group to make sure they were far away. "Whatever that…thing was down there, you burned it up."

"That's ridiculous," Linda said, trying not to look nervous, even as her stomach tightened. "It was cold and dark and wet."

"And yet you found me really quickly," Dick said, "not to mention something knocked that thing away from me, your shirt got ripped up but you're not hurt, that symbol on the wall glowed right before the water level dropped—and you were standing under it when the flashlights came back on."

Linda opened her mouth, but then—

"Hello?" they heard a shout on the other side of the caved-in rocks. "Is anyone there? This is Sheriff Ross!"

Inside the cave, everyone looked over when they heard Pete's voice. Almost everyone hurried over, shouting.

"We're stuck here!"

"Get us out!"

"Okay," Pete said loudly, "I need you all to calm down in there and let me know what's going on!"

Linda glanced at Dick before getting to her feet and hurrying over. "Pete, it's Linda!" she shouted.

Pete stopped, startled; Linda was the last person he expected to hear down there. "Linda, what's going on over there?" he asked. "What happened?"

"There was a cave in," Linda said, "and we tried to get out, but the rocks wouldn't move." [Pete, I couldn't move them at all.]

"And we almost drowned, too!" Darrien added.

Pete paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "Say that again?"

"I'll tell you everything after we're out," Linda said. She glanced around at the others before looking back at the wall. [Pete, you need to get Clark.]

"Alright, kids," Pete said, "I'm going to radio for help; just sit tight. How many of you are in there?"

"Ten total," Linda answered, "and Dick injured his leg; something bit him."

"Do you know what it was?" Pete asked.

"It was too dark to see," Linda said, "and it doesn't appear to be life-threatening, but he still needs medical attention."

Pete nodded. "Okay, we'll get help, kids," he said as he pulled out a small notepad and pen. "Now, who's all in there?" There was silence. Pete glanced at Taggart. "Look, kids, I know you're scared about your parents finding out about you skipping school, but I bet they're not going to be as angry at you as you think. So, what do you say? You ready to tell me your names?" The kids slowly rattled off their names, as Pete jotted them down; he tore off the page and handed it to Taggart. "Call dispatch and an S&amp;R team out here. Let them know what's going on, but don't mention any of the names of the students. After you're done, send a few of the guys out to personally contact each students' family and let them know what's going on, starting with the Kents."

"Why the Kents first?" Taggart asked.

"Because Linda's the youngest in there," Pete replied, "and her parents have a way of making things happen."

"Okay, what about any media that overhears the transmission?" Taggart asked.

"Call dispatch and get a team assembled for that too," Pete replied. "Let them know the area's unstable and media needs to be kept to a minimum-no exceptions. Oh, and contact Joseph Willowbrook, too. He lives in Granville, and he knows the caves pretty well; he might be able to find a way to get the kids out." Taggart nodded and hurried out of the tunnel, leaving Pete alone.

* * *

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" Perry shouted as he rushed out of his office; the entire newsroom halted as everyone looked over. "Heard on the police wire about a cave-in at the Kawatche caves near Smallville; ten high school students are trapped with no way to get out. Now, Search and Rescue's trying to get them out, but they're having no luck."

"Sounds like a job for Superman," Chloe whispered softly to her friend, who nodded in agreement.

"Sullivan, you and Olsen are taking the chopper," Perry continued.

"Isn't Jimmy still in school?" Clark asked.

"Was," Perry answered. "Lopez is sick and Olsen's the only other photographer I'd trust with this assignment; he should be here in five. Sullivan, chopper's waiting on the roof, get up there." Chloe nodded and hurriedly grabbed her things before heading to the elevator. "Lane, I want you on the computer and ready to dig up all we can on the students once we get their identities." Lois nodded and went back to her desk and sat down before she started typing. "Everyone else, back to work!" Everyone went back to their business, allowing Clark the opportunity to make his way over to the staircase door unnoticed.

* * *

Back inside the cave, the group had resumed searching the cave while Linda sat next to Dick as he leaned against the wall on one side, carefully tending to his bandaged wound. Dick just stared at her as she kept her eyes trained on his leg, and he knew she was deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"For someone who said I wasn't in any danger," Dick said slowly after a few seconds, "you seem pretty worried about what got me."

"I just want to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction or anything," Linda replied quietly.

Dick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Linda," he said, dropping his voice, "if you're worried about me telling anyone what I saw, I won't." He reached over and gently took her hand; Linda paused. "I promise." Linda slowly looked up at him, uncertain. "Will you just tell me the truth?"

Linda tilted her head, scanning his mind briefly; she felt nothing but sincerity from him, that she could trust him. Knowing she was already in trouble for what had happened, she sighed. "What do you want to know?" she asked softly.

"Uh…," Dick answered slowly. He had so many questions to ask, but he didn't know which one to ask first. "I guess…are you from Krypton, too?"

"Kind of," Linda said. "The city my parents lived in survived the explosion; I was born about twelve years later."

"So, what are you doing here?" Dick asked.

"My parents weren't exactly nice people," Linda answered. "I came to Earth to get away from them."

"I'm sorry," Dick said sincerely. "So, was that your ship that crashed here a few months ago?" Linda nodded. "And then Superman found you," Linda nodded, "and because he's friends with Clark Kent, he asked them to take care of you, right?"

"Kind of," Linda replied. She knew she could just let Dick believe that, but she figured if the truth was going to come out, then the **whole** truth should come out. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "When I told you Clark was my cousin...that was the truth." She glanced over at him, waiting for his response.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows a little, then his eyes widened as the realization hit him. "No way," he said. "Your cousin is…Superman?"

"Yep," Linda said, suddenly feeling a little fidgety; she quickly got to her feet and paced in front of Dick.

"I guess a pair of glasses really **do** go a long way," Dick replied wryly.

"Actually," Linda said, smiling a little, "if you think about it—" An intense beam of red light suddenly poured down on Linda. It didn't hurt, but Linda felt the energy pouring out of every cell of her body—like yellow sunlight, but in reverse. It lasted a few seconds, then it quickly disappeared. Linda's knees shook for a second before she quickly collapsed to her knees, her entire body shaking.

"Linda," Dick said as he scrambled to kneel next to her, ignoring the pain in his own leg. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Red…sun…radiation," Linda panted as she slowly shifted into a sitting position; she felt Dick's arms supporting her.

"Red sun?" Dick asked, confused.

"It mimics Krypton's sun," Linda replied softly. "Takes away my powers."

"Why would the cave do that?" Dick asked.

Linda shook her head. "I don't—" She stopped in midsentence when they heard a soft fluttering sound; both Dick and Linda looked up and saw a bird land softly in front of them. It was the size of a large Cornish hen, but it had the appearance of a white hawk with large crystalline feather. It spread its wings and opened its beak, letting out an ear-piercing screech; Linda and Dick covered their ears in pain—right before the bird fired its feathers at them like a volley of arrows.

(End of Chapter 13)


	14. Chapter 14

Jonathan and Martha waited with other parents behind the police tape that had been set up, blocking them from getting to the caves. When they had been informed that Linda had skipped school and was trapped in the Kawatche caves, they first thought there had been a misunderstanding, but they knew Pete well enough to know he wouldn't get that wrong.

"Why would she even skip school in the first place?" Jonathan asked, the frustration in his voice masking the worry he felt.

"I don't know," Martha said, trying to keep her composure. "Do you think she's okay?"

"I'm sure she is," Jonathan replied as he put an arm around her shoulders. They saw Pete heading out of the tunnel; he spotted the Kents and motioned for them to join him away from the others. "Pete, how's Linda?"

"She's fine, don't worry," Pete reassured them as he lowered his voice, "but she's having trouble lifting the rocks."

"Kryptonite?" Martha asked, worriedly.

Pete shook his head. "No, nothing like that," he said, "but some of the kids mentioned something about almost drowning."

"Drowning?" Jonathan asked, confused.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to make of that," Pere said. He saw someone from the S&amp;R crew motioning to him. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Mr. Kent?" Jonathan and Martha looked over and saw a couple approaching. The Kents had never seen them before, but they looked familiar.

"Yes?" Jonathan asked.

"Gray Malverne," the man replied. He nodded to the woman next to him. "This is my wife, Lacy. You met our son, Dick, last night."

Martha recognized the worried expressions on their face. "He's trapped in the cave, too, isn't he?" she asked.

Lacy nodded, looking on the verge of tears. "The deputy told us he was hurt," she said softly. "He said some animal bit him."

"I'm sure he's fine," Jonathan said. "Our daughter's in there, too, and I have a feeling she's making sure he's okay."

A loud whooshing sound caught everyone's attention; they looked up as Superman descended from the sky and landed near Pete and the S&amp;R crewperson. The hero glanced over at the four parents; his mouth opened in shock as he recognized his parents. Jonathan nodded slightly to his son's unasked question, and Superman took a deep breath and let it out before turning to Pete.

"Sheriff, I heard on the police scanners you had a situation," he said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"That would be great, thank you Superman," Pete replied as the two.

"Perhaps I can as well," an old and familiar voice spoke up. Everyone turned and saw an old man approach the police tape; he nodded at the men. "Sheriff Ross, Superman." He glanced over at the Kents and nodded politely to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent."

"Mr. Willowbrook," Pete said as he walked over, "thank you for coming on short notice." He lifted the tape and allowed the man to join them as they walked over to one side, away from everyone, lowering their voices. "So, since I'm sure you know what's going on, is there anything you could tell us that will help the students out safely? Another way in or something?"

"If the cave has trapped the students," Joseph replied, "then it means they're in danger, and we don't have much time to get them out."

"What do you mean?" Superman asked.

"Do you remember years ago when I told you about how important the cave was to the Kawatche people?" Joseph asked.

"I do," Superman answered.

"I may have left out a few details," Joseph replied. "The cave **is** an important part of the Kawatche history, but only because its truths were entrusted to my people."

"What truths?" Superman asked.

"The cave is a repository of information about your people," Joseph answered. "It's heavily guarded by defenses put into place when it was first built over five hundred years ago."

"'First built'?" Superman asked. "Are you saying the cave isn't really a cave?"

"It was designed to look like its surroundings and remain hidden," Joseph answered. "If the wrong person goes in to try and learn those truths, the defenses will prevent that from happening—by any means necessary."

"Could that include drowning?" Pete asked.

"'Drowning'?" Superman asked the sheriff. "Pete, what are you talking about?"

"One of the kids mentioned they almost drowned," Pete said. "I thought they were hysterical, but…" he trailed off as he glanced at Joseph, "they were telling the truth."

"Your cousin must have discovered the means to stop it," Joseph said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Pete and Superman stared at the old man. "Only a Kryptonian could have the means to disable the defenses inside, and—unless I'm mistaken—the only other Kryptonian besides you is trapped in that cave."

"How do you know about Linda?" Superman asked, surprised.

"I'm old, but I can still put two and two together," Joseph smiled a little. "We should go check on the students." He followed Pete and Superman into the tunnel.

* * *

Linda winced as Dick carefully pulled the thick, glass-like quill from her left arm and tossed it to the floor; it shattered into pieces. Blood oozed slowly from her arm, and she instinctively put her right hand over the wound, pressing hard; blood trickled slowly through her fingers.

"What the hell was that?" Buzz asked as he and the others glanced at the lifeless body of the unknown bird sprawled ten feet away from them; shards of glass feathers littered the floor around Dick and Linda.

"Don't know," Dick said as he ripped the bottom of his shirt off. "Linda, move your hand." Linda obliged, and Dick carefully wrapped the fabric around her arm; he tied it securely. "There, that should stop the bleeding."

"Thanks," Linda said as she slowly got to her feet.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dick said as he got to his feet; his leg throbbed but he ignored it.

"We have **got** to find a way out of here," Linda replied.

"You're **bleeding**," Dick retorted, giving her a look.

"So are you," Linda countered. Dick opened his mouth to argue, but he realized he couldn't say anything in front of the others; he scowled, and Linda couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"Kids," Pete shouted from the other side, "it's Sheriff Ross. You guys doing okay?"

"We're fine," Linda replied before Dick could say anything.

"Linda, you're bleeding," Buzz said.

"What did you say?"

Linda stiffened as she recognized her cousin's voice, but she wasn't sure which capacity he was currently in, and she glanced over at Dick; he looked a little smug himself. "I'm fine," she replied, trying to sound casual. "It's just a little scratch."

"Linda, you got stabbed by a crystal feather," Dick retorted.

"Miss Kent, is that true?"

Linda glared briefly at Dick before she sighed, knowing she couldn't argue with her cousin while he was in hero mode. "Yes," she replied, "but I'm fine—really."

[If you were fine, you wouldn't be bleeding, Linda. Why are you bleeding?]

[The cave shot a beam of red sun radiation at me; I don't know why, but I don't have my powers.]

[Just sit tight. I'll get you out.]

[Clark, please hurry. I don't know what's going on, but you have to hurry. Something is very wrong here.]

Superman sighed. "Kids, I want you to sit tight," he said aloud. "Just hold on." From the other side, the three men heard the teenagers' protests, but Superman motioned them away from the caved in area.

"Linda said she was shot with a beam of red sun radiation," Superman said to Joseph, keeping his voice low.

"I see you've mastered your telepathy," Joseph remarked. Pete and Superman just stared at him, stunned.

"How long have you known?" Superman asked.

"Since I became the leader of my people," Joseph answered calmly.

"For as long as we've known each other," Superman said, "you knew I was telepathic, and you didn't say anything?"

"I had no way to prove it," Joseph replied, shrugging a little, "and you already considered me an eccentric old man. No need to add to that by declaring you had the ability to read minds."

"Okay," Superman replied, "so, back to the point: if that cave is supposed to be for Kryptonians, then why did it treat Linda as an intruder?"

"It shouldn't," Joseph replied honestly, looking troubled. "The cave was designed by your ancestors; your cousin shouldn't have been attacked."

"I'm getting them out," Superman said, his jaw set, determined. He walked over to the wall. "Kids, stand back now." He heard shuffling and mutters and switched to his x-ray vision, but he couldn't see through the rocks. "Damn it."

"What's wrong?" Pete asked.

"I can't see through the rocks," Superman answered before raising his voice.

"Well, if the cave's really not a cave," Pete replied, "then maybe the rocks really aren't rocks."

"Whatever it is," Superman said, "there's about to be a giant hole in it." He raised his voice. "Is everyone back?" He heard the muffled voices of affirmation before balling up his fist and pulling his arm back. "Pete, Joseph, stand back."

"Wait," Joseph said. "If you strike the wall, it could set off another defense inside."

"Then what do we do?" Superman asked.

"What the hell is that smell?" they heard one of the teenagers ask.

"Kids, what's going on? Pete asked as he approached the wall.

"Gah, smells like a skunk sprayed in here!" another teenager said before coughing loudly.

"Gross!" a girl coughed, then she started gasping. "Can…can't breathe!" The three men heard the sounds of the teenagers coughing, shouting, and gasping for air.

[Linda, what's going on?]

[GET OUT OF MY HEAD! LEAVE ME ALONE!]

Superman shouted in pain and covered his eyes; it was as if Linda was standing next to him, shouting right into his ears at the top of her lungs. He tried to reach her, but she had put up a mental block. He stared at the wall, his blood running cold as he listened to the screams and gasps and shouts on the other side; he set his jaw, his eyes narrowing.

"We have got to get them out of there," he said, his voice low.

(End of Chapter 14)


	15. Chapter 15

Linda felt groggy as she slowly opened her eyes; everything was colored a bright shade of blue and very blurry. The young girl blinked again, but neither the color nor the blurriness disappeared. Confused, she slowly looked around and realized she was wearing skintight undergarments—and floating upright in a blue liquid inside a large tank; a mask covered the lower part of her face, allowing her to breathe. Her eyes widened in horror as she jerked around, looking past the tank.

She saw what appeared to be computers and high tech equipment encircling the tank, but no one around. Her heartbeat and breathing increased rapidly as she pounded on the glass, her shouts for help muffled by the mask. She heard the sound of a loud klaxon outside the tank, but she continued pounding violently, screaming as loud as she could. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head; her eyes widened in horror as she saw her father approach a control panel. He pressed a button and stared at her with a murderous expression as her head suddenly felt as if it were on fire.

* * *

"Get out of my head!" Linda shouted as she covered her head, closing her eyes. "Leave me alone!" She waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. She heard weak shouts and coughs around her, and she slowly opened her eyes, looking around in confusion as she coughed. She was back in the Kawatche cave with the other teenagers; everyone lay on the floor, curled up on their sides, barely conscious, muttering incoherently. Linda saw Dick nearby and crawled over to him, coughing a little.

"Dick?" she asked softly, coughing, feeling light-headed.

"You told me it was gone," Dick said softly, his eyes barely open. "You promised it was all gone."

"Dick," Linda said, gently shook his shoulders, but didn't respond. She looked around at the others, and she could tell they were all unconscious; she slowly got to her feet, coughing, supporting herself on the wall as she slowly walked over to the caved in area.

"Hello?" she asked softly, coughing and gasping a little, finding it harder to breathe. "Superman?"

"I'm here," she heard her cousin say gently from the other side. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"There's some kind of gas in here," Linda said before coughing again, feeling her knees shaking. "Everyone's unconscious…hard to breathe…." She coughed and gasped hard, falling to her knees.

"Linda, don't worry," Superman replied. "We're trying to find a way to get you out, but we don't know how to get in without setting something else off. You prevented everyone from drowning earlier. Is there anything else you can do to turn off the gas or reverse it?"

Linda opened her mouth, confused, wondering if she was hallucinating again. She had heard a third, unfamiliar, voice out there with her cousin and Pete, and she knew neither of them would have asked any questions relating to their true origin in front of a stranger. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Linda, my name is Joseph Willowbrook," she heard from the other side. "I'm a member of the Kawatche tribe, and I'm a friend of both Clark and Pete. I know the truth about the caves, about Clark...and about you." Linda stared at the wall in disbelief; she **had** to be hallucinating.

"Linda," Superman spoke up, "it's okay, trust me. Joseph said only a Kryptonian could stop any of the defenses inside the cave, and you did that when you stopped everyone from drowning. Is there anything you can do to stop the gas?"

Linda shook her head. "I don't know where it's coming from," she said softly, coughing, "but," she coughed again, breathing slowly, "there might be a fail—failsafe…." her breathing grew shorter and shallower as she continued, "always outside…something out of place…only we could…see it…need…a key…." She trailed off as she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"What do you mean?" Superman asked, worriedly, but there was no response. He focused his hearing on his cousin, but all he could here was her shallow breathing. "Linda? Linda?"

"Go get the key," Joseph said to Superman urgently, "bring it back here. Now."

"You and I are going to have a **long** talk after this is over," Superman replied, his tone deadly serious, before he blurred out of the tunnel, leaving Pete and Joseph alone; less than a second later, they heard a loud sonic boom.

Superman quickly flew through the sky as quickly as he could, but instead of heading east toward Metropolis, he headed northwest toward the farmhouse. He landed on the porch and quickly blurred inside, heading up the stairs to Linda's bedroom. He hurried over to her nightstand and pulled the molding above the top drawer, revealing a hidden drawer with her key and the crystal from her ship in it. Superman quickly shut the drawer and blurred out of the house, heading back into the tunnel; he stopped next to Pete and Joseph.

"Now what?" he asked.

"There," Joseph said, pointing to a spot to the left of the caved in area. "Look beyond what we can see to what only you can."

Superman furrowed his eyebrows, but he suddenly understood what Joseph had meant. The hero squinted slightly, switching to his x-ray vision, as he stared at the spot Joseph pointed. The rock wall—or whatever it was—dissolved, revealing what appeared to be an octagonal slot—like the one inside the cave—carved into the wall. Startled, he quickly switched back to normal vision.

"There's a slot there," he said, amazed.

"Put the key there," Joseph instructed.

"How?" Superman asked, frustrated. Joseph gently took Superman's wrist and put his hand near the spot; the rock dissolved from view, revealing the key slot.

"No way," Pete said softly.

Superman quickly put the key in the slot. There was a rumbling sound, and the walls of the tunnel hummed softly before the caved in area appeared to dissolve, leaving the entrance exactly how it had been before the cave in. Superman stopped Pete and Joseph and sniffed the air, checking for any whiffs of gas, but the air smelled fresh and crisp. He nodded before looking around, his eyes pausing briefly on the dead bird, as he noticed the unconscious teenagers sprawled on the floor; Linda lay near the entrance, slowly stirring.

"Help the others," Superman instructed as he hurried over to his cousin. Pete and Joseph hurried over to other teenagers; Superman knelt beside Linda as she opened her eyes. "Linda?"

"Clark?" she asked softly.

Superman smiled a little. "Hey, Short Stack," he whispered.

Linda quickly sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, trying not to cry. "I'm so sorry," she said softly.

"It's okay," Superman replied, hugging her back. "You're safe now." He noticed the blood on her arm and felt his stomach tighten briefly. "Think you can stand?" Linda nodded, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her to her feet; the young girl glanced around as the other teenagers.

"Sheriff, this is Taggart, do you copy?" a voice came over Pete's radio. He unclipped his handmic and spoke into it.

"This is Ross," Pete said, "I copy."

"Is everything okay?" Taggart asked. "We felt some rumblings out here."

"Yeah, Superman managed to break through the wall," Pete said. "He's assessing the structural integrity right now; have the medics standing by. I'll let you know when it's safe. Over."

"Roger that. Over and out."

Pete replaced his mic. "That should give us a little time, but we can't hold them for long," he said. "These kids need help," he glanced at the dead bird, "and I really have no idea how we're going to explain that thing."

"Burn it," Linda said as she turned to Superman, who gave her a confused expression. "Clark, trust me, just do it; get the glass shards, too. And can you dry us off as well?"

"Sure," Superman said slowly before he focused on the bird. His eyes flashed orange briefly before two beams of heat shot out and hit the bird; the carcass ignited and quickly turned to ash; the hero did the same to the shattered feathers, which melted into little puddles that quickly hardened. As he aimed at the students with a lower intensity, starting with Linda, he thought he felt an unusual pressure in his head, but he ignored it. After he was done and all the students were dry, watched as Linda hurried over and knelt beside Dick as he began stirring.

"Pete, the medics can come in," she said. She saw him raise his eyebrow at her, but she gave him a look. "Trust me, it's okay." She glanced back down at Dick as Pete grabbed his handset and radioed Taggart for the medics.

* * *

Chloe fidgeted as the helicopter descended into a clearing a safe distance from the Kawatche cave. The chopper had barely touched down, and the reporter quickly unbuckled her safety belt and hopped out. Jimmy was close behind as they both hurried along the beaten path leading to the cave; a deputy guarding the area stopped them, but both Chloe and Jimmy flashed their press passes, and the deputy motioned them through.

Chloe and Jimmy spotted the police tape securing the area around the cave. Off to one side were a few reporters and news crews, some of which Chloe and Jimmy recognized. Off to the other side were family members of the students, some of them Chloe remembered from high school—and then she spotted Jonathan and Martha standing near the tape; it took only a second for the realization to set in.

"Oh no," she said softly.

"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked as he glanced over to where she was staring, and he recognized the Kents; his lips parted slightly in fear. "No." He didn't even bother waiting for Chloe as he hurried over to them. "Please tell me Linda's okay."

"Jimmy, what are you doing here?" Jonathan asked, surprised.

"Perry asked us to cover this," Chloe answered as she joined them. "Is Linda really one of the students trapped?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Jonathan said as he looked back over at the tunnel.

"What happened?" Chloe asked.

"We don't know," Martha answered. "All they told us was that some of the students skipped school and there was a cave in."

"Linda skipped school?" Chloe asked, incredulously.

"She's okay, right?" Jimmy asked.

"We don't know," Jonathan replied. "Superman was able to get in safely, and they have some medics in there right now tending to them; they should be out soon." They heard a commotion and looked over as a few medics and some of the teenagers started emerging from the tunnel. Reporters shouted out as the students hurried over to their parents; Jimmy instinctively began taking photos of the scene as parents were reunited with their students. Martha and Jonathan scanned the crowd around the tunnel, and they recognized Buzz, but there was no sign of their daughter.

"Coming through," a medic shouted. "Make room." The crowd parted as a gurney was rolled out, and the Kents recognized Dick as he lay on the gurney, his leg wrapped in a makeshift bandage, but he appeared fully conscious and alert. Walking beside the gurney was Linda. Her arm was wrapped in a bloody makeshift bandage, but she looked otherwise unscathed; Superman, Pete, and Joseph followed close behind.

"Linda!" Martha shouted.

Linda looked over and saw her parents standing on the other side of the tape, with Chloe and Jimmy. She looked a little surprised to see Chloe and Jimmy, but she said something to Dick, who nodded, and she hurried over to her adoptive parents, who embraced her; she clung to them both.

"I'm sorry," Linda replied.

"It's okay, Linda," Jonathan said softly, hugging her tightly. "You're safe, that's all that matters right now." He glanced at Linda's bandaged arm briefly, then at Chloe, giving her a look; the reported nodded slightly.

"Jimmy, why don't we give them a little space," she suggested. "Perry'll kill us if you don't get some other shots, and I'm going to try to wrangle a quote from Pete and Superman." She walked off to one side, trying to get Pete's attention.

"You sure you're okay, Linda?" Jimmy asked.

Linda nodded. "Thanks for asking," she said softly. Jimmy didn't look convinced, but he nodded briefly and left the group to go take shots of the rest of the activity.

"What happened?" Martha asked softly. "Why are you bleeding?"

"It's a long story," Linda replied, "and I promise I'll tell you everything, but Clark wanted to wait until he could join us…Pete and Joseph too."

"I would sure feel better knowing why beforehand," Jonathan said, looking a little concerned and frustrated.

"Hey, guys," Pete said as he approached the family, "everything okay?"

"Yes, we're doing fine," Martha said. "Pete, would it be okay if we took Linda home now?"

"Yeah, medics cleared her and most of the others," Pete answered. "The only one going to the hospital is the Malverne kid, but only because he needs to get started on his rabies treatment."

"Rabies?" Martha asked, concerned.

"Yeah, he got bit on the leg while they were trapped," Pete replied. "Everyone said it was a raccoon," he glanced at Linda, "but I have a feeling it was something else. I'll see you later." He nodded and left the trio.

"I have a feeling we're not going to like this, are we?" Jonathan replied as he glanced at Linda.

"Probably not," Linda answered, "but just remember that no one died."

"That's not very comforting," Martha replied wryly.

"Look, before we go, can I check on Dick?" Linda asked.

"Sure," Martha said.

Linda left and headed over to the ambulance, where Dick was being checked over by the medics with his parents standing nearby. Dick saw her approaching and smiled as he sat up straighter.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Linda replied.

"Mom, Dad," Dick said, "this is Linda Kent. Linda, these are my parents."

Linda smiled at his parents. "Nice to meet you," she replied. She glanced at Dick, giving him a look; Dick understood.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," Dick said, "can I talk with Linda for a moment?"

"Sure, son," Gray replied before he and Lacy stepped away.

"Hey, guys," Dick said to the medics, "can you give us a second?"

"Not too long," one of the medics replied before they walked around the side.

"You okay?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Linda answered. "How's your leg?"

"Not bad, actually," Dick replied, "don't need stitches or anything, but I do have to get a round of rabies shots over the next twenty eight days."

"Wow, now I **really** feel bad," Linda said, wincing.

"Hey, it's not your fault I got bit," Dick replied.

"Well, all things considered," Linda said, "it kinda was."

Dick raised an eyebrow, giving her a funny look. "It was your fault the raccoon bit me?" he asked.

Linda leaned over a little, dropping her voice. "Dick, no one's listening," she said, smiling, "you don't have to pretend right now."

Dick suddenly looked really confused. "Linda, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Don't you remember the raccoon scurried in after the cave in? It was freaking out, and bit me before running off." Linda's amused expression slowly faded as she realized he was being sincere; Dick noticed her expression. "Linda, you okay? You didn't get hit by any falling rocks, did you?"

"No," Linda said, trying to keep her voice steady, smiling a little, "I'm fine…just tired, I guess. I better go." She started to leave, but Dick suddenly grabbed her hand.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said sincerely, squeezing it gently.

"Me too," Linda replied, smiling a little. She gently pulled away and headed back toward her parents, unaware that Jimmy had seen the entire exchange through his viewfinder, gritting his teeth.

(End of Chapter 15)


	16. Chapter 16

"So, let me get this straight," Jonathan said as he and Martha sat around the table with Linda, Clark, Pete, and Joseph later that evening; both Streaky and Krypto were sound asleep under the table, curled up at Linda's feet. "The cave is not really a cave?"

"That is correct," Joseph replied.

"You told me I was Naman," Clark spoke up, confused. "Was that a lie?"

"I'm saying that what people think is the story of the Kawatche people is not what actually happened," Joseph answered.

"I think it's best if you tell us the truth, Mr. Willowbrook," Jonathan said firmly.

"Over five hundred years ago," Joseph replied, "my ancestors witnessed the arrival of two visitors who had fallen from the sky during a meteor shower—a rain of fire, if you will. They exhibited amazing abilities—the strength of ten men, shooting fire from their eyes, walking on the air—and were seeking sanctuary. My ancestors, who revered the visitors as gods, were glad to assist them and led them to the place that Linda and the other students were in earlier today."

"What did they do in the cave?" Martha asked.

"My ancestors were never shown," Joseph answered, "but during the time the visitors were there, their true natures were revealed."

"Super-powered psychopaths?" Jonathan asked, slightly sarcastic.

"Jonathan, you can't judge an entire race based on the actions of a few people," Martha said. "Clark and Linda are Kryptonian."

"And Clark was raised on Earth, Martha," Jonathan pointed out.

"So, what does that make me?" Linda asked quietly, "and Rok-Var?"

Jonathan's expression softened as he leaned over and took Linda's hand. "Sweetie, I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Linda said softly, but she didn't look totally convinced.

"What did the visitors do, Joseph?" Clark asked, switching the subject.

"It turned out one of them had an ulterior motive for coming to Earth," Joseph answered. "He had brought special green stones to see what effects they would have on Earth life. He exposed my ancestors to them; some were killed, a few became the skinwalkers who would become the first members of the Kawatche tribe."

"What about the other one?" Clark asked.

"He was furious at the betrayal of the man who had been like a brother to him," Joseph answered. "He tried reasoning with him, but his friend wanted only to fight and kill. Their fight lasted for what seemed like hours, and the betrayer had almost overpowered his one-time friend, but my ancestors used the green stones against the betrayer and killed him. The one who had been good to my people was devastated by the loss of his friend, but he drew comfort in knowing he hadn't lost the trust of the people who had helped him. To show his gratitude, he asked that the cave he had created be guarded by those who had saved his life—and to welcome any future descendants who might come back."

"Is there a reason why this sounds like the story of Naman and Segeeth?" Clark asked.

"Because it **is** the story of Naman and Sageeth," Joseph answered. "My ancestors painted the pictures on the walls to honor what Naman had done for them. Naman means 'kind' and Sageeth means 'betrayer'." He shrugged a little. "My ancestors also felt it was important to make sure the truth about the cave remained a secret to all but a select few."

"Okay, that I can understand," Clark replied, "but why wouldn't you tell **me** the truth? You made it seem like I was Naman and had some big important destiny."

"To protect you," Joseph replied. "Clark, you had been raised your entire life among humans; if you had known the truth about the cave, you would have investigated further. Without the knowledge of your people, it would have caused harm to you—just like it almost did to Linda and the other students."

"I think I would have known better than to mess with technology I wasn't familiar with," Clark replied. His parents, Pete, and Joseph just stared at him, and he sighed. "Okay, okay, point taken." He took in a deep breath. "What I don't understand is why the cave's security system kicked in the way it did; people have been in there plenty of times without anything that bad happening."

"It had to have first been activated by someone who was familiar enough with the technology," Joseph replied, glancing at Linda, "and as far as I know, today was her first day in the cave."

"My father," Linda said, furrowing her eyebrows. "He came to Earth using the teleporter in the cave. He must have activated the system when he arrived, but that doesn't explain the defenses used."

"Which ones?" Clark asked.

"All of them," Linda replied. "Normal Kryptonian defenses involve immobilizing intruders, but everything that happened in the cave was designed to kill—especially putting in red sun radiation to strip me of my abilities **and** putting both a taklor and stantor in there to attack people."

"Taklor?" Martha asked. "Stantor?"

Linda opened her mouth, but she held up a finger. "Hold on," she replied before blurring upstairs; she returned a few seconds later with a pad of paper and a pencil. She quickly sketched on the paper then held up the drawings for everyone to see, pointing to what appeared to be a long, scaly-looking creature with a dragon-like head. "This is a taklor; it's about ten feet long, lives in the water, and eats anything that moves; that's why the water was in the cave." She pointed to the eagle-like bird. "This is a stantor; it has crystal feathers that it launches like arrows." She pointed to her bandaged arm, which had almost completely healed. "A bunch of these hitting you at high speed can be deadly." She put the notepad and pencil down. "Both are dangerous animals native to Krypton and were extinct long before the planet exploded; I'd never seen real ones before. How they ended up in the cave, I don't know…I guess they were put there by the same person who thought it was a good idea to put an entire nest of tripedal curosiananiun in there." She noticed everyone's blank stares. "The parasites that were in the cave walls."

"Yeah, let's not discuss those right now," Pete said, shifting uncomfortably.

"What about the gas?" Clark asked.

"Causes hallucinations," Linda replied quickly, hoping they didn't want her to go into more details.

"Well, either way," Jonathan spoke up, "I think it would be best if no one goes back into those caves. They're dangerous." He turned to Joseph. "I assume you'll make arrangements to ensure no one else gets in there."

"Of course," Joseph replied.

"I have to go back in there," Linda spoke up.

"Linda, you know what those caves are capable of," Martha said. "It's not safe."

"My father activated the defenses when he came after me," Linda replied, "and it almost killed me and Dick and everyone else."

"Linda, that's not your fault," Clark replied.

"I know that, Clark," Linda said, "but you heard what Joseph said. I'm the only one here who knows Kryptonian technology. I have to figure out how to turn off the defenses before someone gets killed."

"And what happens if you get trapped in there again?" Jonathan asked.

"Clark knows how to get me out," Linda answered. She glanced around at the adults, seeing their troubled expressions. "Guys, please let me do this. I'll be careful, I promise."

Jonathan appeared torn, but he took in a deep breath. "I don't like it," he said, "but it appears we don't have much of a choice."

"Thank you," Linda replied.

"What I'd like to know is why you had me heat vision everyone dry," Clark said, "and why no one made any mention of the bird—or almost drowning—after waking up."

Linda squirmed a little. "Okay, promise me you won't be mad," she said, "but I kinda," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "wiped their memories of everything after the cave in."

"You did what?" Jonathan demanded, furrowing his eyebrows. "Linda, I thought we discussed this last month."

"I know," Linda replied, "but I didn't think I had a choice."

"Linda, you **always** have a choice," Jonathan said.

"And if I had chosen to do nothing," Linda countered, trying to remain calm, "then people would start looking into the caves again."

"Linda, I understand that," Jonathan replied, "but you—"

"No, you don't!" Linda shouted out as she jumped to her feet, staring in disbelief at her adoptive father. "I get you're trying to help, but you can't understand what it's like for me," she glanced briefly at the others, "none of you do."

"Linda, I'm your cousin," Clark said gently. "Trust me, I understand how hard it can be sometimes to be different."

"And you had Pete and Chloe to talk to about it," Linda replied. "For a fraction of a day, I thought I was going to have the same thing, but then I went and **screwed** it up." She left the table and headed out the kitchen door.

"Okay, where did that come from?" Martha asked.

"I think I might know," Pete replied as he got to his feet, "excuse me." He headed outside, seeing Linda leaning against the porch rail, looking up at the starry sky. "Hey, Starbuck, you got room for one more?"

"I guess," Linda mumbled, not turning around.

"You know," Pete replied as he walked over and leaned against the rail next to her, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Dick saw you use your powers."

"He saw me use my heat vision to destroy the taklor under the water," Linda said softly. "When he asked me about it…the truth just kind of came out…all of it."

"How did he react?" Pete asked.

"He thought it was pretty cool, actually," Linda answered, "and the way he looked at me…it was as if being an alien didn't matter." She looked crestfallen. "I didn't mean to wipe his mind, Pete; I thought I could focus on everyone but him."

"Look, Linda," Pete said, "I can't begin to understand what it must like to be as different as you and Clark are—and how frustrating it can be to not have anyone your own age to talk to—but as much as Chloe and I were glad to be a part of Clark's inner circle, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

"How so?" Linda asked, confused.

"Well, we had to cover for him," Pete replied, "remember to say 'meteor rocks' instead of 'kryptonite', stuff like that; it wasn't easy."

"So, do you regret it?" Linda asked.

"As his friend, of course not," Pete answered, "but I had to admit I would have preferred being a little older and more prepared."

"So, you think it's best Dick doesn't know right now?" Linda asked.

Pete put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm saying that I think you'll know when the time is right for him to know the truth," he said. He was relieved to see Linda smile a little as she leaned against Pete's shoulder.

(End of Chapter 16)


	17. Chapter 17

Everything was still and quiet, save for the sounds of crickets chirping their midnight songs to a sleeping world. Their song was interrupted as a white Honda Accord pulled up and parked beside the scalloped fence. Lizzy Patterson kept the engine running as she headed to the rear of the vehicle and opened the trunk. She pulled out a large cardboard box wrapped in purple paper. It was quite heavy, but the woman managed to lift it out and carry it up the walk; she climbed the porch steps and carefully set the box on the floor right in front of the stairs. Wearing a huge grin on her face, she hurried back to the car and got in, quickly pulling out and driving away.

* * *

The next morning, Clark walked down the stairs, putting on his glasses. He stopped in mid-step when he saw a large purple box on the kitchen table. He glanced over at his mother as she prepared breakfast. "Do I even want to know?" he asked as he came all the way down and walked over to the island.

"Your father found it out on the porch when he left to do the chores," Martha replied as she handed a mug with coffee in it to her son. "All we know it that it's for Linda." She smiled as she saw him turn around and stare at the box. "And no peeking."

"Good morning," Jonathan replied as he came in, smiling. "Sleep well, Clark?"

"Not too bad," Clark replied, "considering Linda fell on me when she woke up while she was floating—and landed on a sensitive area."

"And I said I was sorry," Linda spoke up as she came down the stairs, fixing her glasses, smiling, with Krypto and Streaky close behind her. She wore a men's purple and green plaid button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows; silver glitter leggings; and black combat boots. Her hair was pulled back by a thick black headband, with a large plastic sunflower glued to one side; the rest of her hair was twisted in a loose braid. "Not all of us can control out anti-gravity abilities yet." She paused at the bottom of the stairs when she spotted the large box. "What's that?"

"We could ask the same about your outfit," Clark replied, glancing at his cousin's outfit with an amused smile on his face. "What's with all the color?"

"Just felt like doing something different," Linda answered, shrugging. "And I checked with the school dress code; everything is perfectly acceptable." She saw Jonathan's unsure expression, and her face fell a little. "You don't like it, do you?"

Jonathan smiled a little and walked over, kissing her forehead. "I think you look just fine," he said. "Now, we think that box is for you; found it this morning on the porch."

"Who sent it?" Linda asked, curiously.

"Not sure," Jonathan answered. "Why don't you open it?"

Linda tried not to appear too excited as she hurried over and started tearing the wrapping paper off the box; the rest of the family came over and watched. Linda pulled back the loosely taped flaps and peeked inside, then she gasped softly.

Nestled in the box were all kinds of art supplies: charcoal kits, paints, brushes, pencils, gum erasers, drawing paper, sketching pad, oils, chalks, modeling clays, sculpting tools, a folded up easel, and an order slip for a pottery wheel that appeared to be on back order; Linda took each item out and examined it carefully with a giddy expression on her face.

"Where did these come from?" Martha asked, surprised, before she and Jonathan glanced over at Clark; he shrugged and gave them his 'I know nothing' expression.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked as he saw an envelope with Linda's name on the bottom of the box next to a rolled up piece of paper with a purple ribbon; he took it out and handed it to Linda.

Linda unfolded it. "It's a letter," she said.

"What's it say?" Clark asked.

"'Dear Linda,'" the teenager read, "'first of all, I'm very glad that you and the others are safe after what happened in the cave earlier today; I didn't want our morning encounter to be the last one we ever had. Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions about the contents in this box, and I'll be happy to explain everything. I know I've only seen one day of work from you, but I can already tell you possess an amazing ability most artists can only dream of having. I don't want to see that go to waste, which is why I'm more than happy to provide you with the tools you need. All I ask is that you don't waste the natural talent you have, because I have a feeling it will take you farther than you can ever imagine. Sincerely, Miss Patterson.'"

"Your art teacher?" Martha asked, surprised and confused. "Why is she giving you art supplies?"

"Because I told her I wanted to drop out," Linda replied quietly. "I said we couldn't afford the supplies on my list." She took a deep breath and glanced at her family. "I overheard you guys talking the other night about getting my supplies." She shrugged. "I didn't want to be a burden, so I went in yesterday morning before class and kinda told Miss Patterson I didn't be in art anymore."

"You quit art?" Clark asked, surprised.

"I didn't want to cause any problems," Linda replied. "I thought it would be best for everyone."

"It's not best for us when you're upset," Jonathan said, putting his arm around her. "If art is something you really want to do, then we want you to continue that," he glanced at the supplies on the table, "and it looks like your art teacher wants you too as well."

"What's this?" Clark asked as he took out the rolled up piece of paper from the box.

"Our in class assignment from the other day," Linda answered. "We had to draw our families."

Clark carefully untied the ribbon and unrolled the paper; his eyes widened in amazement. "Whoa," he said softly.

"What is it, Clark?" Jonathan asked.

Clark turned the paper around. It was a beautiful pencil sketch of Jonathan, Martha, Clark, Linda standing in front of the farmhouse; Linda held both Krypto and Streaky in her arms. Everything was detailed, from the creases around Jonathan's eyes as he smiled down to the detail in the flowers hanging in the baskets on the porch.

"Linda, honey, this is beautiful," Martha said in awe, smiling. "You did this all by yourself?"

"It's perfect," Clark replied, smiling.

"Really?" Linda asked.

"Of course," Jonathan answered, "and you know what we need to do with this?"

"What?" Linda asked.

"We need to frame this and put this with the other family photos," Jonathan replied. "It can be the first one of the four of us," he glanced down at the pets as they played with the wrapping paper under the table, "or six of us."

Linda grinned and opened her mouth to say something, but then she noticed the time on the wall clock. "I'm gonna be late," she said before blurring up the stairs and returning a second later when her backpack slung over one shoulder; she quickly kissed her parents and cousin on their cheeks. "Love you guys! Bye!" She blurred out of the door and headed in the direction of school, cutting through the cornfields unseen.

* * *

"So, how grounded are you?" Andy asked as she walked with Mattie and Linda into the cafeteria, heading over to the lunch line.

"Actually, I'm not," Linda replied as they moved slowly down the line, picking up their food along the way.

"How did that happen?" Mattie asked incredulously.

"Given everything that happened," Linda answered, "my parents figured I'd learned my lesson."

"Girl, you are so lucky," Mattie replied. "I heard that the Kawatche guy didn't even want to press criminal trespassing charges on you guys for going into the cave."

_Wouldn't do much good when the caves kinda belong to my people_, Linda thought, trying not to smile at the irony.

"Yeah, well, Principal Turner isn't budging on what he has planned for you guys skipping school," Andy said. "Saturday detention for a month."

"Please don't remind me," Linda groaned a little, remembering her conversation with the principal earlier that morning in his office. "I am **so** not looking forward to scrubbing toilets."

"Yeah, well, don't do something stupid again," Mattie replied, trying to sound harsh, but Linda saw the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"So, uh," Andy said slowly as she grabbed a carton of milk, "Dick texted us this morning."

"How's he feeling?" Linda asked casually.

"A little tired," Andy replied, "but he wanted to know if you were feeling okay."

"I'm okay," Linda replied quickly as they paid for their lunches and began maneuvering around the tables, "and I said I'd get his assignments to him Friday after school. Why would he think I wasn't okay?"

"He said something about blaming yourself for what happened in the cave," Mattie said cautiously.

"I'd rather not talk about that, okay?" Linda said. "Please."

"Okay," Mattie said slowly; she and Andy gave each other a sideways glance but remained quiet. Halfway to their table, Linda spotted Miss Patterson sitting at a table off to one side; hanging in the front was a banner with 'Back To School Art Contest' across it in bold red letters; the teacher smiled as the trio approached.

"So, are you coming to finally sign up?" Miss Patterson asked.

"Same theme as last year?" Mattie asked.

"'Summer Memories,'" Miss Patterson replied. "You girls interested?"

"I can't even draw a stick figure," Andy said.

"I'm not sure," Linda answered. "It sounds like fun, but it's a bit last minute, isn't it? I mean, it's due in two days."

"Linda, like I said in class today, you should enter," Miss Patterson replied. "I think you have a good shot at placing."

"Don't even bother." Linda turned and saw three girls in cheerleading uniforms approach. The one who appeared to be the leader had platinum blonde hair, but Linda could see her roots were a lot darker. The brunettes that flanked the blonde stared snootily at Linda, and the teenager noticed they wore too much makeup.

"Uh, last time I checked," Linda said, "there weren't any restrictions on who could enter." She didn't know who this person was, but she already didn't like her.

"I'm just saying you don't stand a chance," the blonde replied; she tilted her head. "Wait a second, you're Linda Kent, right? You're new here."

"Yeah, so?" Linda asked, folding her arms.

"I'll give you a little advice, Kent," the girl said. "Don't waste your time; you won't win." She smirked at Linda's outfit. "Especially if you consider **that **good fashion. Going for the thrift store look, huh?"

"Better than the zombie movie reject look, Cecilia," Mattie retorted. "You do realize that when you dye your hair, you're supposed to at least **attempt** to color your roots as well, right?"

"Yeah, you'd know a thing or two about color, wouldn't you, Harcourt?" Cecilia spat back.

"That's enough," Miss Patterson said quickly and sternly as Mattie looked as like she was going to slam her tray into Cecilia's face; the teacher walked over and got between the two girls as the rest of the students looked over. "Brighten, I suggest you and your friends leave right now, or you can march yourselves down to Principal Turner's office instead."

"Fine, we'll go," Cecilia replied smugly, keeping her eyes on Linda, Mattie, and Andy. "This isn't over." She left, the other two cheerleaders flanking her as she walked away.

Linda glanced at Andy and Mattie, waiting for them to say or do something as they watched Cecilia and her friends leave. "So," she said slowly, "now what?"

"You're signing up," Mattie said calmly, but Linda noticed her eyes flash with an angry, hurt expression as she brushed past everyone and marched over to the table. She put her tray down and snatched the clipboard off the table, quickly scribbling Linda's name on it before slamming it back on the table; she wordlessly left the cafeteria.

"What was that about?" Linda asked, a little confused

"I'll tell you later," Andy replied, looking a little upset. "Look, I'm gonna go talk to Mattie, okay?"

"Is there anything I can do?" Linda asked.

"Win the contest," Andy answered before she walked away, leaving Linda by herself.

(End of Chapter 17)


	18. Chapter 18

The Kents were at the kitchen table, drinking and reading the paper when the door opened and Linda walked in with her backpack slung over the shoulder. Krypto scampered in from the living room, greeting Linda with a few small yips until he received a comforting scratch behind his ears; Streaky walked in behind the puppy, winding around Linda's legs and mewling until Linda scratched her ears and back.

"Hi, sweetie," Jonathan said, smiling. "How was school?"

"Not too bad," Linda replied as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl; she took a bite as she walked over to the table and sat down, putting her backpack on the table while the pets went back to the living room.

"Are you sure?" Martha asked, noticing her daughter's expression. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Well, a few of things, actually," Linda admitted. "First of all, do I have to really scrub toilets at the school every Saturday for a month?"

"Yes, you do," Jonathan answered. "Linda, regardless of saving everyone's lives you broke the rules, and there are consequences for that; you should be grateful that's your only punishment for skipping school."

"I know," Linda replied.

"What else is bothering you?" Martha asked.

"Well, Mattie entered me in an art contest," Linda replied, "and I have until Friday to submit my work. We're supposed to do something related to what we've done over the summer; I've decided I'm going to paint a mural."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Martha said. "Your summer **has** been memorable."

"Well, yeah," Linda agreed, "but I seriously doubt you guys want me to paint a picture of my ship landing on Earth, getting my powers, or fighting my father or a super villain."

"No," Jonathan replied, smiling, "but you have done other things that you **can** paint about," he held up her hand as Linda opened her mouth, "and I'm sure you can come up with those ideas on your own." Linda smiled and nodded. "Now, is there anything else on your mind?"

"There was a girl at school today," Linda explained, "and she was very mean to me and Mattie and Andy. She made a comment that got Mattie and Andy upset, and I did some research later in the day and realized that," she looked almost disgusted, "that some people don't like other people just because they're different."

Jonathan realized exactly was Linda was alluding to, and he glanced at Martha, who shrugged slightly; the farmer took a deep breath and put a hand over Linda's. "Sweetie," he said gently, "I'm sorry you had to find out about that that way, but the unfortunate thing is that's the reality of the world we live in: some people just believe they're better than others because they have more money…or look a certain way."

"And the best way to deal with it," Martha added, "is to remember what truly matters about people and try to help others see that as well."

Linda nodded, looking a little less upset. "Okay," she replied. "Look, I'm gonna go change and get started on my chores and homework." She grabbed her backpack and blurred up the stairs. A few seconds later, she blurred back down and out the kitchen door, heading for the barn.

"I'd say that didn't go too bad, considering," Martha said as she got up from the table and walked over to the refrigerator; she pulled out a bowl holding the roast she was planning on fixing for dinner; she glanced over at her husband as she started preparing the roast on the counter. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Jonathan replied as he got to his feet and walked over, leaning against the island. "Just a shame that some people still believe they're better than others just because of their skin color." Martha nodded in agreement, and Jonathan walked over and kissed his wife's forehead before heading out of the house to work on his chores.

* * *

Later that evening after dinner, Linda had withdrawn to her room and changed into a pair of lavender pajama pants with white hearts, and a matching t-shirt. She sat cross-legged on her bed, a pencil stuck behind her ear, tapping another pencil softly against the edge of a large notepad; she had written a list of all the things she remembered doing between arriving on Earth until school started…and had crossed off every single one of them. She sighed as she glanced at the foot of her bed, where both Streaky and Krypto lay curled up together, asleep.

"You guys are so lucky," Linda said softly. "**You** don't have to worry about art contests." She tapped her pencil again, lost in thoughts, then she got an idea. She put her pencil and notepad aside and got up from her bed; she crossed the room to her desk and sat down. She opened her laptop and waited for it to connect before opening the Skype program; she glanced at her contact list and saw Jimmy was online. Grinning, she double clicked on his name, opening a chat window.

'Hey, can you talk?' she typed and sent.

'Sure' came his response a few seconds later.

Still grinning, Linda double clicked on the video option and opened it; she waited for the connection, then Jimmy's face appeared in the window.

"Hey," Linda said, smiling.

"Hey, yourself," Jimmy replied, smiling a little. "How're you doing?"

"Not too bad," Linda replied, shrugging. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday at the cave."

Jimmy suddenly shifted a little as he shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said quickly. "You were with your family—and I had a job to do. Oh, and speaking of that, I wanna show you this." He reached for something on his desk and held it up so Linda could see: it was the latest issue of the Daily Planet, with the headline 'Lucky To Be Alive' in big bold letters under the letterhead; a large photo of Dick being wheeled out of the cave on the gurney, with Linda walking next to him, was centered underneath; Chloe's article . "You made the front page."

"Wow, that's a good shot," Linda replied, impressed.

"Thanks," Jimmy said, putting the paper back. "By the way, how's your arm?"

"Oh, uh, it's fine," Linda replied quickly, trying to sound casual.

"What happened?" Jimmy asked.

"Got hit by part of a falling rock," Linda answered, "but it wasn't as bad as it appeared."

"That's good," Jimmy replied. "So, uh, what about that guy with you?"

"Dick?" Linda asked slowly. "What about him?"

"Was it really a raccoon that bit him?" Jimmy asked.

"Of course it was a raccoon," Linda replied quickly and defensively; she still felt horrible for wiping Dick's memories. "He's getting a series of rabies shots because of it—and can we change the subject? Please?"

"Sure," Jimmy said slowly, trying not to appear hurt. "Sorry I asked."

Linda's anger subsided, and her expression softened. "I'm sorry, Jimmy," she said. "I'm not mad…not at you, anyway."

"It's okay," Jimmy replied softly but sincere; he paused for a few moments. "Do you, uh, do you wanna talk about it?"

Linda stared at him and opened her mouth. She wanted so badly to just tell him—about the cave in, the monsters, who she really was—to have someone outside of her family she could talk to, but she knew she couldn't; she sighed, shaking her head slightly. "No, thanks," she answered. "I, uh…there's actually something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Jimmy looked a little disappointed as he nodded, biting his lip a little briefly. "Okay," he said. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," Linda said, "a couple of my friends—" She was interrupted as Streaky jumped up on the desk, landing right in front of her computer; she meowed at Linda. "Streaky!" She picked up the kitten and held her in her arms, petting her. "Sorry."

"So that's Streaky," Jimmy said, smiling. "She's cute."

"She's a little attention hog," Linda replied, smiling as she scratched Streaky's ears; she heard the kitten purring in content.

"So, where's the infamous Krypto?" Jimmy asked.

"Sleeping on my bed," Linda replied.

"Ah," Jimmy said. "So, you were saying?"

"Oh, yeah," Linda replied, putting Streaky down. "Like I said, a couple of my friends entered me in an art contest; I'm supposed to submit something about what I did over the summer, and it's due on Friday. I've made a list of everything that's happened to me since I got here, but none of it feels…inspiring, you know? I would love any suggestions you might have."

"You're asking me for help?" Jimmy asked, surprised, smiling a little.

"Why wouldn't I?" Linda asked, smiling. "My teacher says a good artist will get inspiration from anywhere," she shrugged, "and apparently I've been told I'm a pretty good artist."

"Well, if you paint as good as you dance," Jimmy replied, smiling warmly, "then I have no doubt about that." He saw Linda tilt her head, furrowing her eyebrows, then she slowly grinned. "Linda?"

"Thank you so much," Linda said, grinning widely. "I gotta get started."

"Okay," Jimmy replied slowly. "Glad I could help?"

"I'll talk to you later," Linda said quickly. "Thanks again. Bye." She quickly signed off, leaving Jimmy sitting at his desk, staring at his computer in confusion.

(End of Chapter 18)


	19. Chapter 19

Friday afternoon, Linda sat at her desk in English class. There were about fifteen minutes left in class, and the assignment was to spend the rest of the class writing in their literature journals about their thoughts and feelings concerning the first two chapters of 'To Kill A Mockingbird.' Linda was in the middle of explaining her thoughts and opinions about the various cultures and ways of life in Maycomb.

"Teachers and students," Principal Turner's voice came over the speaker, "please excuse this interruption, but I am pleased to announce the winners of the 'Summer Memories' art contest." Linda stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Mattie and Andy; they grinned and gave her thumbs ups. Linda swallowed nervously as she felt her stomach tightening. "Third place winner is Garfield Logan," Turner continued, "second place winner is Cecilia Brighten, and the first place winner is Linda Kent." Mattie and Andy shrieked loudly, cheering and whooping.

"Miss Harcourt, Miss Martinez," their teacher, Mr. Parker, said sternly, "please contain yourselves." Mattie and Andy quickly quieted down, still grinning.

"Teachers, please excuse the winners to leave class early and report to the art room," Turner finished. "Thank you."

"Miss Kent, you're excused," Mr. Parker said. "Please remember your homework assignment over the weekend." Linda nodded and quickly gathered her things, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "And Miss Kent?" Linda looked at her teacher, who smiled slightly. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir," Linda said, smiling. She glanced at her friends, grinning, before heading out of the room; she headed down the empty hall, feeling as if she was walking on air. She made her way to the art room and saw Cecilia already inside, along with Garfield 'Gar' Logan, a student in Linda's art and history classes; he was a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy dressed in jeans, a bright green shirt, and matching green sneakers. Cutter, Wally, Miss Patterson, and Principal Turner—a middle-aged, balding man in a brown suit—were also there; all of them were talking to each other, then Cutter and Wally noticed Linda as she stood near the door.

"Hey, Linda," Wally said as he and Cutter walked over, smiling. "Congrats on winning."

"Thanks," Linda said as the adults joined them.

"Miss Kent," Principal Turner said, "congratulations. Miss Patterson was just telling me me that you are one of her most promising students. I saw your submission, and I have to agree with her; you have a wonderful talent."

"Thank you, sir," Linda said, trying not to look embarrassed as she glanced at her art teacher, who smiled back.

"So, now that everyone's here," Cutter spoke up, "are we ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Sharp," Principal Turner replied. He motioned to Cecilia and Gar, who walked over. "Mr. Sharp has already interviewed both Miss Brighten and Mr. Logan about their pieces, so they just need your interview, Miss Kent, and a group photo of all three of you with your artwork. Let's go ahead and get the photo first."

Linda put her backpack on one of the tables before joining the other contestants at a nearby group of three easels with three different paintings on them; Linda got a chance to quickly glance over her fellow winners' entries.

Gar's sketch was a charcoal mural of tigers, lions, bears, wolves, and elephants in various habitats; they were drawn so realistically that Linda almost wanted to reach out and touch them.

Cecilia's drawing was a sketch of the coast of Hawaii at sunset in colored pencils, with Kilauea in the background. Even though Linda wasn't too fond of Cecilia, especially with how the cheerleader felt about her friends, the teenager had to admit Cecilia was pretty talented.

Linda's submission was a watercolor portrait containing two parts. The bottom half was a detailed painting of the farmhouse, barn, and fields, and her family: Jonathan and Clark were working on a trailer, Martha was gardening, and Streaky and Krypto were running down the gravel path. The light blue—almost white—sky blended seamlessly into a dark venetian blue space filled with white and blue dots. In the center of the space was a couple slow dancing on a swirl of feathers; the girl was made of red and orange flames, while the boy was made of icy blue flames.

"Okay, everyone stand next to your work," Wally instructed. He waited until the contestants positioned themselves next to their easels; Wally raised his camera and carefully focused. "Okay, guys, smile." The trio smiled, and Wally snapped a couple of shots. "Alright, thanks."

"Linda, you mind staying around so we can get a few quotes?" Cutter asked.

"Sure," Linda replied. She turned to Gar and Cecilia. "Hey, guys, congratulations." Cecilia gave a forced smile but said nothing as she left the art room. Principal Turner also left to take care of his afterschool duties, while Miss Patterson excused herself to her office.

"Not bad yourself, Linda," Gar said as he walked over and peered closely at her painting. "So, you gonna explain what this—" He furrowed his eyebrows and peered closer. "Dude, is that a TARDIS?"

"Where?" Cutter asked as he and Wally came over.

"Right there," Gar replied, pointing to the upper right corner of the painting. Wally and Cutter looked closer, squinting. In the upper right corner of the drawing, no bigger than an inch tall, was a detailed TARDIS; it appeared to be zooming through space.

"That is totally awesome," Cutter said, grinning as he glanced over at Linda.

"Well, I was introduced to the show over the summer," Linda replied, smiling, "so I wanted to include it."

"So, an artist, a Whovian, and not bad looking, either," Gar replied, smiling, as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Definitely a triple threat for some lucky guy." He gave her harmless wink before he glanced at the wall clock and winced a little. "Ooh, gotta go. See you later, Linda; congrats again!" He hurried from the art room, leaving the trio alone.

"And in less than three months after moving to Smallville," Wally added, smirking, "you already have your picture on the front page of two newspapers," he shrugged, "well, you will on Monday when we get the paper printed."

"Well, don't think that's going to be a regular thing," Linda pointed out. "I have no intention of having my face plastered over the front page of **any** newspaper on a regular basis."

"So, you gonna explain this?" Cutter asked, nodding at Linda's painting. "I mean, we get the whole 'new life and family on the farm' part, but what's with the dancing couple? I'm guessing you're the girl, right?"

"That would be correct," Linda replied. "I had my first dance over the summer, and it had a big impact on me, so I wanted to add it to the painting."

"Oh?" Cutter asked curiously.

Linda nodded. "Yeah, we danced to Owl City's 'Real World,'" she said, "so, that's why we're fire and ice dancing on the downy feathers in a venetian blue starry sky."

"So, your cousin taught you how to dance," Wally said, intrigued at the thought of his mentor knowing how to dance. "That was nice of him."

"Actually, it was Jimmy Olsen," Linda answered. "He was visiting for his birthday, and he wanted to teach me to dance, so that ended up being my birthday present to him."

"Oh," Cutter said slowly, seeing the small smile on Linda's face; he gave Wally a sideways glance, but Wally simply kept quiet as he shrugged.

"Hey, look, I gotta run myself," Linda said. "I promised Dick I'd get his work to him after school, and I don't want to be late." She grabbed her backpack from the table and waved to her friends as she headed for the door. "See you later, guys."

"So, you think we should say anything to Dick?" Wally asked.

"Not our place," Cutter answered without hesitation. He saw Wally's uncertain expression. "I'm serious; we don't know what's going on, so there's no point in mentioning it, okay?"

"Okay," Wally replied, shrugging again, before he and Cutter left.

* * *

Linda blurred through Pleasant Meadows, glancing left and right as she passed the rows of houses, trying to find the address Dick had texted her. She quickly found it—282 Wilson Street—and stopped, unnoticed, on the drive in front of a light-blue two-story home with white trim and shutters; a neat and trimmed yard with fall foliage growing in the beds and lining the walk to the front door complimented the suburban atmosphere. Linda walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. The soft melodious rings reminded Linda of crystal chimes, but she tucked that imagery away in her mind for another time as the door opened; Dick's mother stood on the other side.

"Hi, Linda," she said warmly, smiling. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you," Linda answered. "I brought Dick his homework. How's he feeling?"

"Much better," Lacy replied, "although that might change when he sees how much homework he has to do. Would you like to see him for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Linda said, "but I can't stay too long."

Lacy stood aside and let the teenager in before closing the door. She led Linda up the stairs and down the hall to the end, to a closed bedroom door with a huge black and white poster of the Beatles album cover 'Help.' She knocked on the bedroom door. "Dick, Linda's here to drop off your homework."

"Come in," Dick replied from the other side of the door. Lacy opened the door and walked in with Linda behind him. Dick, lay in his bed, on top of black and white covers, dressed in a gray shirt and navy blue pajama pants—his injured leg propped up on a pillow, and gray fuzzy socks. He appeared alert but looked a little pale as he sat up and smiled at Linda. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," Linda said, smiling.

Dick glanced at his mother, who took the hint; she smiled and nodded as she left the room, keeping the door open.

"You feeling okay?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dick replied, nodding at his desk chair. "Take a load off."

Linda hesitated, but she grabbed the desk chair and brought it over, sitting down as she put her backpack on the floor next to her. "So, what happened? You weren't injured **that** bad, were you?"

"No, leg's doing fine," Dick answered, nodding at his leg, "but I had a bit of a reaction with the rabies shot." Dick answered. Linda looked a little worried. "It's okay, I'm fine, really, but the doctors wanted me to rest for the rest of the week to be on the safe side." Linda looked unconvinced as her gaze drifted to her feet; Dick carefully swung his feet over the side, facing Linda; he took her hands in his. "Look at me." Linda slowly looked up. "Now, I don't know why you're blaming yourself for what happened in the cave, but it's gotta stop. You didn't cause that cave in any more than I did, okay? None of us should have been there, and we were very lucky we weren't hurt worse than we were." He glanced at her arm. "How's your arm, by the way?"

"Better," Linda replied quietly. "Almost healed, actually."

"Good," Dick replied. "Now, will you stop blaming yourself?"

"I'll try," Linda answered quietly, trying not to think about unintentionally wiping his memories.

"So, uh, everyone texted me and said you won first place," Dick replied, deciding to change the subject; he smiled a little. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Linda replied, smiling as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, feeling her cheeks grow a little warm.

"So, what does it look like?" Dick asked. "Cutter said I'd have to wait until Monday when the Torch is printed."

"Then I'm not going to spoil the surprise," Linda replied, smiling. Dick groaned as he flopped back on his pillows, but he was smiling, so Linda knew he wasn't really upset. She leaned over and unzipped her backpack, pulling out a folder filled with a small stack of papers. "And before I forget, here're your assignments from your classes."

"You're killing me, here," Dick said as he sat back up and took the offered folder.

"Well, then I'll leave you so you don't die," Linda replied, amused.

"Sure you don't want to stick around for a while?" Dick asked. "I could use the company."

"I wish I could," Linda replied sincerely, "but while I may not be grounded, my folks told me it would be in my best interest to not spend too much time dawdling, especially since I have to start my detention tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, Mattie and Andy said Turner stuck you with scrubbing toilets for a month," Dick said, grimacing. "Sorry to hear that."

"What did you get?" Linda asked.

"Scraping gum from under the bleachers in the stadium," Dick answered, "starting next week."

Linda winced. "Ouch," she said. "Well, I better go before my parents call Sheriff Ross." She smiled apologetically and zipped up her backpack before standing up; she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Get some rest, okay?"

"I will," Dick replied, trying not to blush too hard. He waved as Linda left his room, closing the door behind her. He waited a few moments before he sighed and flopped back against his pillows, staring at the ceiling. "Dude, you are an idiot."

* * *

The next morning, after doing her chores, Linda reported to Smallville High to begin her punishment. Linda wasn't thrilled as the principal showed her the janitor's closet, but she knew things could have been a lot worse as she gathered the necessary supplies she knew she'd be using. She figured she'd start on the first floor and work her way up, so she headed down the hall to the girl's bathroom at the end of the hall; she headed inside and poured cleaner into the toilets. The teenager was sorely tempted to use her abilities to make the job go by faster, but she had been told by her parents—repeatedly—that she was not allowed to use **any** of her powers, and Linda knew they would somehow find out if she hadn't followed their instructions.

While waiting, impatiently, Linda saw how dingy the mirrors appeared, and—either out of her own sense of cleanliness or some subconscious desire to possibly shortening her punishment—decided to clean them as well. She grabbed a bottle of glass cleaner and sprayed the first mirror, then took some paper towels and wiped the streaks (and faint lipstick marks) from the glass; it only took a few seconds until the mirror was completely clean.

"Hard at work, I see."

Linda briefly stiffened when she heard the familiar voice, but she quickly turned around, smiling at the person standing just in the doorway. "Mr. Luthor," she replied as she started on the other mirrors. "What are you doing here?"

"Not much," Lex replied. "I just saw your picture on the front page of the Daily Planet, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That was very thoughtful of you," Linda said, "and I'm doing just fine, thank you." She paused a moment. "So, you came all the way to Smallville just to check on me?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," Lex replied.

"About what?" Linda asked.

"The Kawatche cave," Lex answered.

"There's not much to talk about," Linda replied, still cleaning. "There was a cave in, my friend got bit by a raccoon, and I got hit by a falling rock." She shrugged. "Nothing much to talk about." She stopped wiping and looked over at the businessman. "Why the interest, Mr. Luthor?"

It was Lex's turn to shrug. "Just natural curiosity. When I was younger, there were lots of unexplained phenomena in Smallville, some linked to the meteor shower, some linked to the Kawatche caves. I'm sure Clark's told you about them."

Linda shrugged. "Not really, Mr. Luthor," she replied. She smiled politely. "I'm sorry to be rude, but I do need to go back to cleaning. I have to do all the bathrooms in the school—and I don't think Principal Turner would appreciate me talking with anyone while I'm working on my punishment."

Lex nodded. "Alright," he replied. "Do you need me to give you a lift when you're done?"

"No thank you, Mr. Luthor," Linda replied. "My parents said to call them when I was ready, and I think I better stay on their good side for a while."

Lex smiled and nodded, understanding. "You can call me Lex, Linda."

"Can't do that," Linda replied, going back to her work.

"And why not?" Lex asked, amused.

"Because Mom and Dad told me I need to respect my elders," Linda replied.

Lex nodded, trying not to look offended. "Well, have fun cleaning," he said. "I'll see you around." He left the bathroom, leaving Linda alone.

The young girl used her X-ray vision and watched Lex leave; she waited until he was out of the building before she sighed with relief. She didn't like the idea of being ambushed and cornered like that—especially by Lex. She was tempted to use her telepathy, but she decided against it; she wasn't sure how her parents would feel about her doing that, even if it **was** Lex Luthor. Knowing she had other things to worry about, Linda pushed all thoughts of Lex and everything else as she went back to her cleaning.

THE END


End file.
